My Japanese isn't very good, but it says the Yankees, Dodgers and Angels are the finalists to sign Tanaka. I don't see how the Angels are in that conversation, really, but I guess it's a small glimmer of hope.

My Japanese isn't very good, but it says the Yankees, Dodgers and Angels are the finalists to sign Tanaka. I don't see how the Angels are in that conversation, really, but I guess it's a small glimmer of hope.

His wife wants to live on the west coast, so if he doesn't want to bat, and his wife wears the pants (unlikely in the Asian household), he could be an Angel.

But in the real world, I agree with Atomic on this one - I say he becomes a Dodger. It's a better pitchers park, closer to home, and they'll put as much cash in front of him as the Yankees. If that happens, I bet Kershaw becomes a Ranger.

my point is that, if he keeps doing what hes doing, its very likely that he gets to sign another contract even bigger than this one in five years, so instead of one massive record breaking deal in his careeer, he could get two. for a pitcher thats unheard of

my point is that, if he keeps doing what hes doing, its very likely that he gets to sign another contract even bigger than this one in five years, so instead of one massive record breaking deal in his careeer, he could get two. for a pitcher thats unheard of

my point is that, if he keeps doing what hes doing, its very likely that he gets to sign another contract even bigger than this one in five years, so instead of one massive record breaking deal in his careeer, he could get two. for a pitcher thats unheard of

my point is that, if he keeps doing what hes doing, its very likely that he gets to sign another contract even bigger than this one in five years, so instead of one massive record breaking deal in his careeer, he could get two. for a pitcher thats unheard of

Or he blows his arm out and the team has wasted a ton of money.

actually that risk is more on kershaw than the dodgers. if it happens, he doesnt get to cash in a second time, but the dodgers wont be paying him deep into his 30's like most megadeals you see these days. this isnt signing a 32 year old for 10 years. pitchers are inherently risky but signing a 25 year old for 7 years is on the low end of the sprectrum

im not saying hes remotely in kershaws league yet, but i cant help but wonder what this will mean for strasburg in a few years.

my point is that, if he keeps doing what hes doing, its very likely that he gets to sign another contract even bigger than this one in five years, so instead of one massive record breaking deal in his careeer, he could get two. for a pitcher thats unheard of

Or he blows his arm out and the team has wasted a ton of money.

actually that risk is more on kershaw than the dodgers. if it happens, he doesnt get to cash in a second time, but the dodgers wont be paying him deep into his 30's like most megadeals you see these days. this isnt signing a 32 year old for 10 years. pitchers are inherently risky but signing a 25 year old for 7 years is on the low end of the sprectrum

im not saying hes remotely in kershaws league yet, but i cant help but wonder what this will mean for strasburg in a few years.

How is this a risk for Kershaw? If he doesn't blow his money on airplanes or get ripped of by somebody he is going to have more than enough money than his or his family could ever spend. And he could just as easily blow 500 million as he could 200 million.

im not saying hes remotely in kershaws league yet, but i cant help but wonder what this will mean for strasburg in a few years.

This hasn't been talked about enough. People keep focusing on future free agent deals, like Strasburg (who will test the free agent market and not sign an extension, and I'm willing to bet a lot on that), but Stras has two more years of arbitration left.

This deal means that the arbitration number is going to make a huge jump (it's based on players performance compared to the performances of other players and their compensation). Small market teams are not going to be able to afford $15m Arb-1 and Arb-2 players. Makes the David Price situation in Tampa look soft, by comparison.

im not saying hes remotely in kershaws league yet, but i cant help but wonder what this will mean for strasburg in a few years.

This hasn't been talked about enough. People keep focusing on future free agent deals, like Strasburg (who will test the free agent market and not sign an extension, and I'm willing to bet a lot on that), but Stras has two more years of arbitration left.

This deal means that the arbitration number is going to make a huge jump (it's based on players performance compared to the performances of other players and their compensation). Small market teams are not going to be able to afford $15m Arb-1 and Arb-2 players. Makes the David Price situation in Tampa look soft, by comparison.

That is why I said he shouldn't have been shut down a couple years back with the Nationals in the playoffs. He is going to be gone anyway soon as he gets a chance.

Scherzer resigns for one year, 15.5. Optimistic Julian says that's a good faith effort before a Long term deal. Pessimistic Julian says we just paid top dollar for a guy who's going to start for Boston/NY for the next decade.

Scherzer resigns for one year, 15.5. Optimistic Julian says that's a good faith effort before a Long term deal. Pessimistic Julian says we just paid top dollar for a guy who's going to start for Boston/NY for the next decade.

Offense wants to sign for NY/Boston.

Post-steroid pitchers want no part of those ball parks. I predict the Tigers sign him to a long term deal before the trade dealine. Every move they have made this off season was in the vein of a long term deal for Scherzer (and arguably made the team better in the long run).

Seems like a really stupid contract for the team. Also, giving him an option to opt out early is stupid. Dumb contract overall for the Dodgers.

Not surprisingly, you might be the only person who thinks that.

Anything over 4 years for a pitcher is a risk to the team, but Kershaw wasn't signing anything less than 7-10 years next season. So to pay what appears to be less than market value. while he's still under control, in exchange for an early out for the pitcher is a good deal.

Not to mention, money is no object for that team at the moment. I still think they sign Tanaka.

Seems like a really stupid contract for the team. Also, giving him an option to opt out early is stupid. Dumb contract overall for the Dodgers.

Not surprisingly, you might be the only person who thinks that.

Anything over 4 years for a pitcher is a risk to the team, but Kershaw wasn't signing anything less than 7-10 years next season. So to pay what appears to be less than market value. while he's still under control, in exchange for an early out for the pitcher is a good deal.

Not to mention, money is no object for that team at the moment. I still think they sign Tanaka.

How can it be less than market value when he signed a contract for more than any pitcher in history? It is only 7 year contract if he sucks. Otherwise he bolts early. Stupid for the team. Great for him.

You miss understand the market. Yes his deal is more than the 2-3 other 7-year deals for Verlander, Sabathia, and Hernandez, but he's much younger and had better numbers.

Previous contracts are only one factor, and not the largest. The real market is what other teams would be willing to pay for Kershaw, and just about everyone expected a 10-year $300 million deal, which is what he likely would have gotten had he made it to free agency and there was competition for his signature. Especially at 26.

You miss understand the market. Yes his deal is more than the 2-3 other 7-year deals for Verlander, Sabathia, and Hernandez, but he's much younger and had better numbers.

Previous contracts are only one factor, and not the largest. The real market is what other teams would be willing to pay for Kershaw, and just about everyone expected a 10-year $300 million deal, which is what he likely would have gotten had he made it to free agency and there was competition for his signature. Especially at 26.

10 year 300 million is less money per year than 7 year 210 million. He is also going to be the highest paid baseball player of all time. I don't see how you could say he is getting less than the market rate. And the 5 year opt-out is bad for the team. As basically they are only getting 4 years more guaranteed Kershaw and guranteeing him 7 years guranteed money at the highest rate in major league baseball.

"The Yankees, with the addition of Tanaka?s reported $22 million salary in 2014, will have eight players who will make at least $15 million this upcoming season. That figure would be nine, but Alex Rodriguez (and his $25 million salary) is currently suspended for 2014.Hall-of-Famer-in-waiting shortstop Derek Jeter, is actually ninth(or 10th, if you count A-Rod) on the Yankees? 2014 payroll at $12 million.

In comparison, the rest of the AL East has just five players who are scheduled to get $15M or more in 2014."

23.5 is the guaranteed money. the third year is a team option with a $4.5 million buyout.

considering the price of pitching these days, a guy as reliable as arroyo is practically a steal for that much

curious to see where burnett goes. kilgore suggested the nats make a play. not sure if i buy it, but it would be an interesting move. he'll probably end up back in pittsburgh, provided they can carve out some budget space

curious to see where burnett goes. kilgore suggested the nats make a play. not sure if i buy it, but it would be an interesting move. he'll probably end up back in pittsburgh, provided they can carve out some budget space

The hot rumor on Pittsburgh is that they already made the best offer months ago, but that he was extremely pissed about being passed up for the rookie in game 5 of the NLDS and won't return.

I don't see him going to the Nats, who really don't need him and should probably focus on the bullpen with that cash.

Edit: He has an Insider column on it which just posted. Which I can't access.

He said:

He's old, getting older, doesn't throw the ball hard enough to keep the ball in the park consistently, and can't get left handed batters out.

I point to the numbers I posted with no signs of age getting in the way of that. He's consistent and can give your bullpen a rest. And he'll keep more balls in the park in the NL West than in the launching pad that is Great American Ballpark.

The one point I do agree with was that the D-Backs already had an innings eater who was much cheaper in Ian Kennedy ($6m for 2014). The problem with Kennedy is that he's lazy - the Yankees knew it, the D-Backs now know this and you don't want your young pitchers seeing that. That's why Arroyo is now in AZ and Kennedy is on his way out.

It's not very often I disagree with KLaw as much as I do now. I think this is a good deal with little risk.

curious to see where burnett goes. kilgore suggested the nats make a play. not sure if i buy it, but it would be an interesting move. he'll probably end up back in pittsburgh, provided they can carve out some budget space

The hot rumor on Pittsburgh is that they already made the best offer months ago, but that he was extremely pissed about being passed up for the rookie in game 5 of the NLDS and won't return.

I don't see him going to the Nats, who really don't need him and should probably focus on the bullpen with that cash.

interesting. i do remember the announcers saying something like "its all hands on deck in the pirates bullpen tonight, except for aj burnett" during game 5. seemed odd at the time but makes sense now, and doesnt make him look good.

given his playoff performance versus coles, it was a no-brainer for hurdle anyway.

im lukewarm on the nats making a play. they certainly dont need him, but if he can be had for cheap (seems like hes severely limited his own market), im not sure id object. i like detwiler but he might be more valuable as a bullpen arm

TAMPA, Fla. -- Brian Roberts hasn't been able to stay on the field as an every-day second baseman since 2009, but that didn't stop New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi from naming Roberts as Robinson Cano's successor.

"That is the plan, for him to be our second baseman," Girardi said Monday. "I know he hasn't played a full season in the last few years, he's obviously a guy who has some age on him too, but my plan is to run him out there every day."

'The following is not permitted under our dress code after 9pm: sleeveless shirts on men, profanity on clothing, exposed undergarments on men, sweat pants, full sweat suits, excessively long shirts (when standing upright with arms at your side, the bottom of your shirt can not extend below the tip of your fingers), jerseys (sleeved jerseys are permitted in conjunction with a cardinals game or any other major St. Louis sporting event), athletic shorts and excessively sagging pants or shorts bandanas.'

'The following is not permitted under our dress code after 9pm: sleeveless shirts on men, profanity on clothing, exposed undergarments on men, sweat pants, full sweat suits, excessively long shirts (when standing upright with arms at your side, the bottom of your shirt can not extend below the tip of your fingers), jerseys (sleeved jerseys are permitted in conjunction with a cardinals game or any other major St. Louis sporting event), athletic shorts and excessively sagging pants or shorts bandanas.'

'The following is not permitted under our dress code after 9pm: sleeveless shirts on men, profanity on clothing, exposed undergarments on men, sweat pants, full sweat suits, excessively long shirts (when standing upright with arms at your side, the bottom of your shirt can not extend below the tip of your fingers), jerseys (sleeved jerseys are permitted in conjunction with a cardinals game or any other major St. Louis sporting event), athletic shorts and excessively sagging pants or shorts bandanas.'

'The following is not permitted under our dress code after 9pm: sleeveless shirts on men, profanity on clothing, exposed undergarments on men, sweat pants, full sweat suits, excessively long shirts (when standing upright with arms at your side, the bottom of your shirt can not extend below the tip of your fingers), jerseys (sleeved jerseys are permitted in conjunction with a cardinals game or any other major St. Louis sporting event), athletic shorts and excessively sagging pants or shorts bandanas.'

'The following is not permitted under our dress code after 9pm: sleeveless shirts on men, profanity on clothing, exposed undergarments on men, sweat pants, full sweat suits, excessively long shirts (when standing upright with arms at your side, the bottom of your shirt can not extend below the tip of your fingers), jerseys (sleeved jerseys are permitted in conjunction with a cardinals game or any other major St. Louis sporting event), athletic shorts and excessively sagging pants or shorts bandanas.'

I was hopeful that this was for the whole city of St Louis but it is just for a ballpark? Maybe we should have this in Baltimore. I like the idea of extending your hands and measuring to see if you shirt isn't over the length of your fingers. If it is the cops could hit you with their nightstick. Otherwise you are free to go about your business.

I was hopeful that this was for the whole city of St Louis but it is just for a ballpark? Maybe we should have this in Baltimore. I like the idea of extending your hands and measuring to see if you shirt isn't over the length of your fingers. If it is the cops could hit you with their nightstick. Otherwise you are free to go about your business.

Why does what people in Baltimore wear matter to you? Why do you want people with long shirts to get beat by the cops? I know you are trolling but this is ridiculous.

I was hopeful that this was for the whole city of St Louis but it is just for a ballpark? Maybe we should have this in Baltimore. I like the idea of extending your hands and measuring to see if you shirt isn't over the length of your fingers. If it is the cops could hit you with their nightstick. Otherwise you are free to go about your business.

Why does what people in Baltimore wear matter to you? Why do you want people with long shirts to get beat by the cops? I know you are trolling but this is ridiculous.

It is trolling to make a joke? And it is pretty rich coming from you. You and Azaghal have become the biggest trolls on the site. All those stupid Ween posts? Really you weren't trolling then? I used to like you but you have become bitter.

Well you don't know trolling. YOu trolled the worst I have ever seen. Any ohter forum you would have been banned.

I am replying to a post with a joke. You really thought I seriously thought people should be hit by the cops for wearing the wrong size clothing? You were trolling me by posting Ween everywhere. You did it to attempt to annoy me and destroyed the whole forum by doing it.

Oh and I don't get the one people over another. I think that all people would be beat equally.

Smackie, when Trout hits actual free agency are we looking at 40 or 45 mil per season? It can't be less than 40, reasonably, can it?

That will depend on when he hits free agency. Assuming he continues at his current pace offensively:

If the Angels announce something next week (like I think they will), he'll probably get $15m, $20m, $25m, $30m, $35m and $40m over the next 6 years (roughly equal to what he would get in arbitration, plus 3 bought out free agent years). 6 year, $165 million deal.

If the Angels do what Atomic suggests and wait until his service time is up, the Angels will pay him $15m, $25m, and probably $35m in his last arbitration season. The Yankees will then pay him $45m-$50m in his first season and $75m in the last year of his $500 million 10 year deal.

Actually think as well as he was able to hit with his knee problems the second half of last season where his basically just using his upper body to swing, his hitting is not going to completely fall off like you see some people do. I think he can be a viable 20 homerun 260 hitter at 39 or 40. But I'm hugely biased.

We are getting burnt bad on the back end of that probably butnim still utterly thrilled. I still argue he's the best hitter of our lifetime (so far).

Not if you can trade it to the Rangers.

And yes, he's the best hitter so far in our generation. I still wish the Angels would have made the deal for him but they decided that Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis and BOTH Ervin Santana and Nick Adenhart was too much. One or the other pitcher was fine, but not both. The Halo's also thought Brandon Wood was untouchable - as it turned out so was any pitch you threw at him. They might have been right had Adenhart not been killed, but Miggy turned out better than alright.

For those that forget, Detroit ate Dontrel Willis' contract and gave up Dallas Trahern, Burke Badenhop, Frankie De La Cruz, Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller and Mike Rabelo for Cabrera.

We are getting burnt bad on the back end of that probably butnim still utterly thrilled. I still argue he's the best hitter of our lifetime (so far).

Not if you can trade it to the Rangers.

And yes, he's the best hitter so far in our generation. I still wish the Angels would have made the deal for him but they decided that Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis and BOTH Ervin Santana and Nick Adenhart was too much. One or the other pitcher was fine, but not both. The Halo's also thought Brandon Wood was untouchable - as it turned out so was any pitch you threw at him. They might have been right had Adenhart not been killed, but Miggy turned out better than alright.

For those that forget, Detroit ate Dontrel Willis' contract and gave up Dallas Trahern, Burke Badenhop, Frankie De La Cruz, Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller and Mike Rabelo for Cabrera.

It was a fleecing no doubt. That's why I don't feel like the tigers could even let that guy get the free agency. If you were practically gifted that type of immense talent, you can't go through the emotional wall of actually letting him leave. He could be a top two or three Tiger all-time.

so... You think it's going to make them fairly competitive but not win a title, or no...?

It going to take 5 years to a decade, but I think they'll win the AL West before Seattle.

The Pirates were the 4th or 5th best team in the league last year, but 4th and 5th were distant to the top 3 (BOS, STL, DET) . And unlike the Dodgers, they couldn't spring the cash to upgrade their weaknesses via free agency. Houston is going to have the same problem.

Hard to argue with this logic on why the Tigers should not have gone 10 years with a 31 year old:

"You could give him $35 million for three seasons [in an extension]," said one official, "and you would've saved yourself more than $100 million in risk. Hell, you could give him $45 million a year for three years, and it would've been impossible for him to turn that down -- and you save money on the back end."

The Angels will sign the paperwork on a 6 year deal tonight and announce it tomorrow.

Edit: only $144 million. BARGAIN

That has to be the worst deal in the history of sports. The Angels get 2 years of his free agency years for 140 million. The Angels GM is the worst GM in the league by far. He doesn't know how to not sign players to terrible deals for the team. I wake up every day thanking him for turning the Orioles down.

And he's arbitration eligible next season, where after Cabrera's deal, he was likely to make $25-$30 million next year and as much as $40 million in 2017.

2015 - $25 million2016 - $30 million2017 - $35 million

So that's $90 million the Angels were committed to.

So for another $50 million, they signed Trout for 2018-2020 for an average value of $18 million. That's the definition of a bargain.

When the O's don't do the same with Machado and he becomes a Yankee, I'll remind about how good GM's and Owners handle once in a generation talents.

The Angels will be awful with Trout. How do you get 25 million for 2015. There has never been an arbitration award close to that. Much less the ridiculous number you put up for 2017. He has to be compared to other 4th year player none of whom are making half of that.

If Machado goes I won't be mad as I am sure it will be the benefit of the team. I would rather have a winning team without Machado than a losing one with him. I can tell you this that DD would never give him an insane deal like Trout got. And what is worse is other players are going to use Trouts figure in their arbitration. Angels idiot GM is hurting other clubs with stupid deal.

There has never been an arbitration award close to that. Much less the ridiculous number you put up for 2017. He has to be compared to other 4th year player none of whom are making half of that.

As usual, you are ignoring certain parts of the CBA that pertain to this particular case. It's called the "special accomplishments" clause:

"This shall not limit the ability of a Player or his representative, because of special accomplishment to argue the equal relevance of salaries of Players without regard to service, and the arbitration panel shall give whatever weight to such argument as is deemed appropriate"

Essentially the player's representative can argue that the player's accomplishments are so unique as to demand comparison to players outside the designated group of comparable players.

The Players Association was chomping at the bit to test this clause with Trout. MLB owners and GM's are praising the Angels for not letting Trout get to Arbitration. Can you imagine if he had won the MVP this season and then gone to Arbitration?

And he's arbitration eligible next season, where after Cabrera's deal, he was likely to make $25-$30 million next year and as much as $40 million in 2017.

2015 - $25 million2016 - $30 million2017 - $35 million

So that's $90 million the Angels were committed to.

So for another $50 million, they signed Trout for 2018-2020 for an average value of $18 million. That's the definition of a bargain.

When the O's don't do the same with Machado and he becomes a Yankee, I'll remind about how good GM's and Owners handle once in a generation talents.

The Angels will be awful with Trout. How do you get 25 million for 2015. There has never been an arbitration award close to that. Much less the ridiculous number you put up for 2017. He has to be compared to other 4th year player none of whom are making half of that.

If Machado goes I won't be mad as I am sure it will be the benefit of the team. I would rather have a winning team without Machado than a losing one with him. I can tell you this that DD would never give him an insane deal like Trout got. And what is worse is other players are going to use Trouts figure in their arbitration. Angels idiot GM is hurting other clubs with stupid deal.

i know it's a different decade and a different ballclub, but DD was responsible for the manny ramirez lucrative contract. i don't think he'd hesitate to pull the trigger on another huge deal again.

Pretty much every Angel fans nightmare scenario. A lead in the 7th turns into a 7 run bullpen loss. Just like 2012. And 2013....

Brock (ID)

New Question. How long do you think the Mike Trout craze will last? Will he live up to his hype for a longer period of time?

Jayson Stark (1:21 PM)

Wait. It's a "craze?" I don't see this as just "hype." This is real, man. He's had two seasons unlike anything we've ever witnessed from a player his age. And there's zero sign it's fluky, or about to end any time soon. So this is no fad, Brock. This is about the best player in baseball proving his greatness every night. And some of us noticing!

Some of us noticed from the beginning. The only downside is that you have to watch the rest of the team play. On Wednesday night he was 2-3. The rest of the team was 1-26. Ladies and gentlemen your 2014 Angels!

Is there any other way to look at your new batting coach breaking his femur on the ceremonial first pitch?

. Wait, I didn't hear anything about this. What's the story?

Freak accident. Femur busted when he was in the crouch to catch the first pitch. Boom. Same sort of thing happened to my best friend. Turned out his parathyroid was all fucked up, made him totally calcium deficient hence the brittle bones.

Is there any other way to look at your new batting coach breaking his femur on the ceremonial first pitch?

. Wait, I didn't hear anything about this. What's the story?

Freak accident. Femur busted when he was in the crouch to catch the first pitch. Boom. Same sort of thing happened to my best friend. Turned out his parathyroid was all fucked up, made him totally calcium deficient hence the brittle bones.

Wow! I was envisioning him being the person who is throwing the pitch, your situation is less funny.

Is there any other way to look at your new batting coach breaking his femur on the ceremonial first pitch?

. Wait, I didn't hear anything about this. What's the story?

Freak accident. Femur busted when he was in the crouch to catch the first pitch. Boom. Same sort of thing happened to my best friend. Turned out his parathyroid was all fucked up, made him totally calcium deficient hence the brittle bones.

Wow! I was envisioning him being the person who is throwing the pitch, your situation is less funny.

Not my situation! Video is hard to watch! When it happened to my friend he was crouching down in a crowded club. His wife was literally walking up to the stage to do her very first standup comedy open mic. And pop! He heard it go, down he went, and he screamed.

some kid snapped his femur in a high school football game when i was a kid. never will i forget the sound of the screaming. kind of helps to imagine it happening in a comedy club.

When I was about 3 years old, my older sister and I shared a room via bunk beds. She had the top, I had the bottom.

She managed to get out through the barrier while sleeping and fell from the top to the ground, breaking her femur at about age 4.5. Because kids grow so fast at that age, she was in traction and had a full waist plaster cast with a broom handle between her legs to set the femur so she wouldn't limp the rest of her life. When she saw Baylor's injury, she cried.

I threw my hat across the room when Hamilton dove head-first into first base last night.

Had to apologize to those in the room.

Now he's out two months and I take back my apology.

What the hell is the matter with professional athletes? These are no brainers.

He was my star player on my American League fantasy team. I just replaced someone in this keeper league and that person didn't leave much to keep. So I thought I got lucky when I got Hamilton cheap in the draft. What I am saying this hurts me more than you.

This is a good read. (http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/46048/new-transfer-rule-creating-problems) MLB's new interpretation of the transfer rule is a mess. Maybe it's because I watch a lot of West Coast Baseball where it seems to be happening more often, but I've seen it about a half a dozen times now where what used to be a clear out in the outfield and a dropped transfer to the throwing hand is now called no catch. But it's a nightmare for the base runners, who aren't getting help from the umpires on the base paths.

I really do hope a cagey outfielder intentionally drops a transfer soon and gets everybody out in the chaos.

The one's you are seeing are too late to prevent. The real fixes have to come in high school/college and year round club ball, where the majority of Tommy John surgeries are happening. It's the damage done when they are young that causes the problems now.

If you have Soundlcoud, this conversation with Dr James Andrews (https://soundcloud.com/mlbnetworkradio/dr-james-andrews-physician-on) from last week is worth a listen on the issue.

I really do hope a cagey outfielder intentionally drops a transfer soon and gets everybody out in the chaos.

cagey outfielder? is that the adjective used to describe someone (or something) as nicholas cage-like?

Agreed. That was a poor choice of words as I was rushing out of my office. Cagey means suspicious. I was probably going for cheeky, because I wanted something more than clever. Clever with a hint of deviousness.

This Tigers bullpen is killing me. I don't understand how we've made an effort this season and the last two to upgrade the pen and put big $$ into it and trade away guys for pen guys and they just hemmorage runs nightly. It's maddening. Loaded the bases last night and gave up the Grand slam to lose and a comedy of 85mph meatballs going again right now. Sigh.

This Tigers bullpen is killing me. I don't understand how we've made an effort this season and the last two to upgrade the pen and put big $$ into it and trade away guys for pen guys and they just hemmorage runs nightly. It's maddening. Loaded the bases last night and gave up the Grand slam to lose and a comedy of 85mph meatballs going again right now. Sigh.

Reminiscent of the 'Year of the Balk'. Another catastrophe. Now it's on to new pine tar rules!

Oh yeah - the "complete stop" rule. Dave Stewart couldn't figure that one out. Another great example of bad rule enforcement. What was the name of the Mariner who balked in like 1/3 of his appearances?

EDIT: Rod Scurry, better known from the Pittsburgh Cocaine days. He balked 11 times that season in 31 1/3 innings.

Reminiscent of the 'Year of the Balk'. Another catastrophe. Now it's on to new pine tar rules!

I don't know what the Pine Tar rules is suppose to mean. There is a rule that pitchers can't use it. Simple rule. I think the punishment should be stiffer. How is suspending a guy for 10 games and paying him punishment. Cheating seems to be encouraged in baseball. Suspend them for 30 days without pay.

"Always, initial reaction is enforcing the letter of the rule," Showalter said. "My personal opinion is, instead of addressing the issue, they should address the problem. The problem is the baseball.

"We've been doing something pretty archaic for a long, long, long, long time and that's putting mud on it. The problem is, guys can't grip the ball. And you put mud on it and it's 40 degree, it gets slicker. If I'm a hitter or an opposing manager, I want you to be able to grip the baseball."

?I think the way that the rule has been enforced, as with lots of rules in baseball, is that when there?s a complaint, we do something about it,? MLB chief operating officer Rob Manfred said. ?And that?s what happened here. I don?t think that this particular incident is all that different from other incidents that we?ve had in the past. We will like we do every offseason look at this issue, but remember, pine tar is one of a number of foreign substances, and you have to have a rule that fits for all of them. I don?t think there?s anything all that different about the Pineda.?

The main reason most managers don't check pitchers like the Sox did, us because you can't be certain that your guys aren't doing the same thing. The Sox had no choice because Pineda was photographed the week before and then ESPN caught him on camera that inning. Farrell had no choice because of the blatant video evidence.

My hatred of multiple required click-through is only surpassed by my love of Hawk being generally reviled. It's almost unlistenable.

I'm sure Sox fans love him. I've never met a non-Chicago person who didn't think he's the worst. He has like three trademark calls "you cannnnnn put it in the board," "he gone!," and, "Mercy!" that he uses to the point of self-parody. And is an obnoxious homer even by local-TV-guy standards.

Also his complete lack of professionalism. He'll get upset about some minor slight and just go are you bleeping me for five minutes or he'll be sad about a homerun and literally won't talk for 90 seconds at a time. And he's the play-by-play guy. He won't even announce balls and strikes if he's in a bad mood will just going to one of these funks, it's ridiculous.

Also, on a personal note, I find any grown adult who self glosses themselves a ridiculous nickname to be just the worst. His name is Ken, but he insists on referring to himself in the third person as "The Hawk" to the point it's caught on. You're 65 years old, stop trying to give yourself a nickname; you're a loser.

Hows that guy Cron looking? I picked him up on Sunday for my fantasy team.

There's no book on him, so he's taking advantage of the league not knowing how to pitch him. He's doing fine with fastballs though. The test, as always, will be if he can hit the breaking stuff. With Ibanez hitting south of the Mendoza line right now, he'll get some AB's, though he's limited in AB's because he can only play first and there's a rejuvenated Pujols in front of him (and Pujols is better defensively).

I expect him to platoon with Ibanez when Hamilton and Calhoun come back. He'll face the lefties, Ibanez gets the righties. If it's a keeper league, then there's a future because he's the future 1B for the Halo's. If it's one year league, ride him now, but temper expectations for when the Halo's get healthy. It will probably take Ibanez getting released for him to make a big impact and I don't see that happening.

Hows that guy Cron looking? I picked him up on Sunday for my fantasy team.

There's no book on him, so he's taking advantage of the league not knowing how to pitch him. He's doing fine with fastballs though. The test, as always, will be if he can hit the breaking stuff. With Ibanez hitting south of the Mendoza line right now, he'll get some AB's, though he's limited in AB's because he can only play first and there's a rejuvenated Pujols in front of him (and Pujols is better defensively).

I expect him to platoon with Ibanez when Hamilton and Calhoun come back. He'll face the lefties, Ibanez gets the righties. If it's a keeper league, then there's a future because he's the future 1B for the Halo's. If it's one year league, ride him now, but temper expectations for when the Halo's get healthy. It will probably take Ibanez getting released for him to make a big impact and I don't see that happening.

I have both Calhoun and Hamilton so I need somebody to hit until they get back. Yeah it is an AL keeper league. He seems to really have hit in the minors but he doesn't seem to be on top 100 prospect lists which I find confusing. I guess he can't field but that shouldn't matter in fantasy.

I expect him to platoon with Ibanez when Hamilton and Calhoun come back. He'll face the lefties, Ibanez gets the righties. If it's a keeper league, then there's a future because he's the future 1B for the Halo's. If it's one year league, ride him now, but temper expectations for when the Halo's get healthy. It will probably take Ibanez getting released for him to make a big impact and I don't see that happening.

There is talk of Ibanez being released. Cron homered off a righty yesterday and has 11 hits in 28 at-bats. Ibanez has 14 hits in 101 at-bats, and only 1 hit all season against lefties. It's looking like the Angels are letting Cron hit more against righties, and facing all lefties.

I expect him to platoon with Ibanez when Hamilton and Calhoun come back. He'll face the lefties, Ibanez gets the righties. If it's a keeper league, then there's a future because he's the future 1B for the Halo's. If it's one year league, ride him now, but temper expectations for when the Halo's get healthy. It will probably take Ibanez getting released for him to make a big impact and I don't see that happening.

There is talk of Ibanez being released. Cron homered off a righty yesterday and has 11 hits in 28 at-bats. Ibanez has 14 hits in 101 at-bats, and only 1 hit all season against lefties. It's looking like the Angels are letting Cron hit more against righties, and facing all lefties.

Looks like Cron wont' be playing for a while with no DH against the Phillies.

Buster wrote about him today, basically reiterating what I have been saying. He throws hard (96 mph avg, top 3 among starters), his ball breaks ridiculously causing the most swings and misses out of the zone, and has kept the ball in the park (one HR in 52 innings, tied with Beuhrle).

He and Skaggs have been the reason the Angels are 21-18 right now, compared to 15-24 a season ago. Now what to do about the #5 starter.....

Buster wrote about him today, basically reiterating what I have been saying. He throws hard (96 mph avg, top 3 among starters), his ball breaks ridiculously causing the most swings and misses out of the zone, and has kept the ball in the park (one HR in 52 innings, tied with Beuhrle).

He and Skaggs have been the reason the Angels are 21-18 right now, compared to 15-24 a season ago. Now what to do about the #5 starter.....

Any recommendations for good food/brew near PNC Park? Going to Pittsburgh tomorrow for the 2-game series.

Meat and Potatoes is about a 15 minute walk, otherwise there are numerous places with in a few blocks of the stadium. Also noteworthy are the Sharp Edge and Fat Head's (not close to the stadium but worth a visit if you're in town for multiple days).

Any recommendations for good food/brew near PNC Park? Going to Pittsburgh tomorrow for the 2-game series.

Meat and Potatoes is about a 15 minute walk, otherwise there are numerous places with in a few blocks of the stadium. Also noteworthy are the Sharp Edge and Fat Head's (not close to the stadium but worth a visit if you're in town for multiple days).

Any recommendations for good food/brew near PNC Park? Going to Pittsburgh tomorrow for the 2-game series.

Meat and Potatoes is about a 15 minute walk, otherwise there are numerous places with in a few blocks of the stadium. Also noteworthy are the Sharp Edge and Fat Head's (not close to the stadium but worth a visit if you're in town for multiple days).

(http://mksiemionko.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/debbie-downer.png)

It's actually quite delicious (definitely unhealthy) but great if you like bar food and not a vagetaririan*.

I was finishing up a round of golf and missed the first inning, but it sounded like Richards was leaving his fastball in the zone a bit. He eventually settled down and went 7, but Keuchel was a new man. He was awful the first time I saw him (early April) but was my kind of lefty last night. Not a hard thrower, but mixed his speeds up well and located his pitches.

It will be nice to get the offensive starters back, but they're still one injury to a starter away from collapse.

Red Sox resigned Drew for $10m. WTF? The one team that didn't lose a draft pick in the Drew saga resigned him today?

Yeah I was stunned by this.

Buster makes a good read here:

If Drew had taken Boston's qualifying offer last fall, for $14.1 million, and then received another this fall -- when the QO's are expected to be about $16 million -- then he would've been in line to make $30 million over two seasons. He's now making $10 million for 2014, instead; is anyone confident he'll get a deal worth $20 million for 2015, to get to $30 million?

Red Sox resigned Drew for $10m. WTF? The one team that didn't lose a draft pick in the Drew saga resigned him today?

Yeah I was stunned by this.

Buster makes a good read here:

If Drew had taken Boston's qualifying offer last fall, for $14.1 million, and then received another this fall -- when the QO's are expected to be about $16 million -- then he would've been in line to make $30 million over two seasons. He's now making $10 million for 2014, instead; is anyone confident he'll get a deal worth $20 million for 2015, to get to $30 million?

as a sox fan, it delights me whenever we get a boras-represented athlete for less. does anyone else feel that way? it's like i keep a record of time he fools us, or we fool him.

it delights me whenever we get a boras-represented athlete for less. does anyone else feel that way? it's like i keep a record of time he fools us, or we fool him.

In complete agreement. Jered Weaver's deal is still the best deal Anaheim has ever signed and Boras was pissed:

Jered Weaver admits he had to go against the advice of agent Scott Boras before agreeing to the Los Angeles Angels' five-year, $85 million contract extension, but he said the lure of staying home outweighed the seduction of greater riches.

"If $85 (million) is not enough to take care of my family and other generations of families then I'm pretty stupid, but how much money do you really need in life?" Weaver said Tuesday. "I've never played this game for the money. I played it for the love and the competitive part of it. It just so happens that baseball's going to be taking care of me for the rest of my life."

Boras, he said, wasn't so supportive of what amounts to a hometown discount.

"Obviously, he wants to give you the best options and free agency can give you the best options," Weaver said. "He would have liked to have seen me gone, but I told him I wanted to get something done and he was more than willing to work with me about it that way."

It's also what you get by not signing Boras ludicrous deals. I'm loving watching Teixeira cost NY millions and not produce while reminding Angel fans that we have Trout as the compensation pick.

Red Sox resigned Drew for $10m. WTF? The one team that didn't lose a draft pick in the Drew saga resigned him today?

Yeah I was stunned by this.

Buster makes a good read here:

If Drew had taken Boston's qualifying offer last fall, for $14.1 million, and then received another this fall -- when the QO's are expected to be about $16 million -- then he would've been in line to make $30 million over two seasons. He's now making $10 million for 2014, instead; is anyone confident he'll get a deal worth $20 million for 2015, to get to $30 million?

I am guessing if the Red Soxs make a qualifying offer this year he will take it. Is he really making 10 million or is it 10 million pro-rated? I think the thing learned this off-season that is if you aren't a superstar take the qualifying offer.

On the same night, Carlos Gomez' biggest fan (http://wapc.mlb.com/cutfour/2014/05/27/77090874/video-carlos-gomez-biggest-fan-threw-strike-first-pitch-jordan-hynum-brewers?partnerId=as_mlb_20140528_24795776) also threw out the first pitch:

The St. Louis Cardinals have traded third baseman and former World Series MVP David Freese to the Los Angeles Angels for outfielder Peter Bourjos as part of a four-player trade, the teams confirmed Friday.

In addition to Freese, the Angels also will receive reliever Fernando Salas. The Cardinals, meanwhile, also will receive outfield prospect Randal Grichuk.

It would have been pretty ironic if they had sent down Bourjos (hitting .211) to bring up Grichuck....luckily for Bourjos, Robinson was hitting .152.

bought mlb.tv over the weekend. watched my first "home" dodgers broadcast last night. first vin scully experience! i'm watching every single dodgers broadcast from now on.

I'm so fortunate to have grown up with that - and I didn't even like the Dodgers. He does about 100 games a year - all games in LA and most of the Western US road games.

I had forgotten this when I turned on Beckett's no hitter about the 7th inning and he wasn't calling it.

kind of fitting that he didn't call beckett's game. i've followed josh beckett's career since the early marlin's days, from his headcase days until a few years ago when he started mailing it in with the sox. i'm not sure there's any person less-deserving than him to have the honor of vin call his no-hitter.

Why do the Angels insist on starting Ibanez over Cron? Just release Ibanez already. He is done. Hitting worse than a pitcher.

It's inevitable with Cron (hitting better against righties than anyone expected), Cowgill hitting almost .290 and Calhoun, despite hitting .227, all hitting better than Ibanez. Unless he's willing to take over Lefty pinch hit duties, the return of Josh Hamilton will just about signal the end for him.

His AB with one out and runner on third last night was among the worst I've seen from him. All he needed was a ground ball or a fly ball and he gets an RBI - instead he pops out, in foul territory, to the first baseman.

That was the third Angel runner I'd seen him throw out at home in the last week and half, and the third Angel thrown out at home or third in that game. I threw my glasses across the room and when I went to put them on this morning, they split in the middle. I'm sure it was just a coincidence....

That throw is ridiculously great, and the audacity to look back after he dropped the ball to almost challenge Kendrick to run on him is amazing. If you get a chance to watch the whole video, you should - his celebration is so subdued, his smirk is almost "yeah, I just did that and I'll do it again if I have to." Amazing. I was so pissed and yet in awe.

Edit: Here you go - the full video. (http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/oak/richard-justice-yoenis-cespedes-arm-part-of-an-amazing-package?ymd=20140611&content_id=79246610&vkey=news_oak)

yeah the full video tells a betetr story but the gif shows just how far he threw the damn ball on the fly. you just dont see throws like that from left field

i love that he totally botches the pick up, inexplicably pauses before running after it, then unleashes that. the reaction of black shirt/red hat fan behind home plate says it all

of course plays like this bring out all sorts of "ive seen better" curmudgeons, but thats objectively one of the best throws youll ever see. ive watched the video a few dozen times and my jaw still drops.

credit to norris for playing it perfectly on his end too. would have been a damn shame for a throw that good to be for nothing cuz the catcher messed up

of course plays like this bring out all sorts of "ive seen better" curmudgeons, but thats objectively one of the best throws youll ever see. ive watched the video a few dozen times and my jaw still drops.

I'm an Andy Van Slyke lover, will defend him until the day I die. That throw is better than any Van Slyke throw I can remember, and he had a cannon.

Throwing out an aging Pujols coming off of foot surgery is not as impressive as Kendrick. He never should have run - that was two nights in a row that Pujols ran through a stop sign from Discarcina at third, and three times in two weeks. He was out every time by at least 2-3 feet. Thankfully, I didn't throw anything this time...

Porcello just pitched his best game in the bigs. Complete game shut out 3-hitter. Not too shabby for a #4 pitcher. Never would've thought he'd be Tigers first pitcher to ten wins. Making the decision to trade Fister away look pretty OK.

Porcello just pitched his best game in the bigs. Complete game shut out 3-hitter. Not too shabby for a #4 pitcher. Never would've thought he'd be Tigers first pitcher to ten wins. Making the decision to trade Fister away look pretty OK.

Why has no collection of fans from one league started a campaign to flood all star voting for the worst players from the other league in an effort to sabotage the game and get home field advantage in WS?

Why has no collection of fans from one league started a campaign to flood all star voting for the worst players from the other league in an effort to sabotage the game and get home field advantage in WS?

because it would take hundreds of thousands of votes all in the effort to "humiliate" someone who swings a stick and catches and throws and runs a couple a times a day for 2/3 of the year while making 6+ figures. and plus, they'd decline.

Why has no collection of fans from one league started a campaign to flood all star voting for the worst players from the other league in an effort to sabotage the game and get home field advantage in WS?

because it would take hundreds of thousands of votes all in the effort to "humiliate" someone who swings a stick and catches and throws and runs a couple a times a day for 2/3 of the year while making 6+ figures. and plus, they'd decline.

I'm pretty sure the votefortheworst domain is available again if you're up for the challenge....

Smackie, its too late for this season, but I feel like you and I can single-handedly lead the AL to home field in the 2015 World Series. This could be the very springboard you need to get that elusive GM job!

theo's major SS moves as GM with the red sox, 2004-2011:trades franchise SS nomar garciaparra, receives orlando cabreralets cabrera walk after season, signs edgar renteria long-termtrades renteria to atlanta after first season, pays majority of his contractsigns alex gonzalez for 2006lets gonzalez walk, signs julio lugo for a 4-year dealtrades top SS prospect (largely believed to be untouchable) hanley ramirez to the marlins for josh beckett and the falsely reported corpse of mike lowelllugo a disaster, run out of town by 2007prospect jed lowrie steps in for 2008, 2009. can't stay healthy.sign marco scutaro for 2010, despite lowrie being capable

does this position haunt him so much that he needs to stockpile the top 3 talents at the position, just so he isn't burned again? i think so.

ANAHEIM -- With Monday night's 5-2 win over Toronto, the Angels evened their franchise record at 4,272-4,272-3 and reached the .500 plateau for the first time since they were 1-1 as an expansion team in 1961.

The Angels became the first expansion franchise with an all-time record at or above .500 and the 13th franchise in the Majors with the distinction.

Among expansion teams, Arizona (25 games below .500) and Toronto (62 games below .500) are the closest to the milestone. The Padres (531 games) and Mariners (390 games) are the furthest from the mark.

When manager Mike Scioscia began managing the Angels in 2000, the franchise was 213 games under .500. He has gone 1,285-1,071.

Los Angeles has won 11 straight at home and five in a row overall to notch the landmark win.

The Yankees lead the Majors with an all-time record that is 2,379 games above .500.

This team is fun to watch again, but I still don't trust the bullpen. One more deal for a serious arm would make smackie a very happy man.

Also, I couldn't help but see the parallels last night between the Angels season and the Ducks season, right down to making an already good team better with a trade (Gaborik/Smardzjia) . The major difference is winning the AL West will be 10 times more important than winning the Pacific Division. Anything could happen in a one game playoff....

A.THOMAS BOSWELL :Thanks. Talk about the Question of Questions (for today at least).

I would take Ripken, by a small margin, because he was a far better defensive player.

But most stat analysts would take Ripken by a fairly large margin. Go ahead and be shocked. I am.

Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference have their own methods for defining the total value of a player. But they come up with similar results. They call it WAR -- Wins Above Replacement. But the acronym covers the basic fact: They think they can rank 'em (statistically) and they do.

The conclusion of both is that Ripken was one of the best defensive players in history at any position and the third-best defensive shortstop ever (behind Ozzie Smith and Mark Belanger) while Jeter is one of the very worst defensive shortstops ever. In fact, out of 546 shortstops, going back to the 19th century BaseballReferfence ranks Jeter as the 25th worst ever -- or thee 521st best, if you want to put it that way --with a NEGATIVE value in runs to his team for his defense.

Both sources consider Jeter a far better offensive player -- almost twice as good, perhaps.

This syncs with what I have said for 25 years about Ripken -- absolutely fabulous defensive player at SS, but only a good hitter. That's a main reason his streak is so valid -- would you say that Ozzie Smith should take a few days off a season if his hitting slumps a little? Of course not. His defense has enormous value, so never bench it when he's healthy.)

BaseballReference:

Ripken is the 36th best player in history (including pitchers) with a value of 95.5 wins (above an easy to acquire replacement player). Ripken ranks between Pujols and Clemente.

Jeter is the 57th best player ever with a WAR of 72.1. He's just below Larry Walker (!???) and Harry Heilman and just above Rafael Palmeiro and Johny Mize.

See, I told you it would make you want to scream -- one way or the other,

FanGraphs also has Cal as the 36th best player (including pitchers) with a value of 92.5 extra wins for his team.

Jeter is 69th with a value of 74.4 wins.

Here's the killer, for bar arguments. FanGraphs -- which carries plenty of weight in baseball these days --gives Jeeter an offensive value of +361.6 runs to Ripken's +165.4.

But on defense, Ripken is the fifth best defender in history with a value of 310.1 runs to the O's, behind only Ozzie Smith, Brooks Robinson, Belanger and catcher Ivan (Pudge) Rodriguez with +310.1 runs. While Jeter has a career value of -24.4 runs!

This goes right to the core of the way many teams are currently built with a big weight on sabermetrics and defensive value.

Okay, you want to know. Here are the worst defensive players in history. (Remember, the longer you play the more negative defensive WAR you can build up.) Gary Sheffield, Manny Ramirez, Frank Thomas, Adam Dunn (!) and Dave Winfield.

DAVE WINFIELD!?????

This is why the current valuation arguments get SO loud in baseball.

And here are the five best fielding pitchers ever and their value in runs.

Maddox +185.6

Glavine 169.5

Spahn 146.7

Carlton 145

CY YOUNG +142.

Livan Hernandez is 10th despite far less innings pitched.

I'd say "discuss among yourselves" but I bet "discuss is much too mild a term.

As I said, give me Cal by a hair -- not >30 spots in all-time ranking.

All this emotional outpouring toward Jeter, I just don't get it. You'd think he has Lou Gehrig's disease or something. Instead, he gets to retire and enjoy his millions and watch his nephew grow up with his boyfriend.

wow, astros fail to sign top pick brady aiken. reminds me a lot of the controversy of signing harper and strasburg... i think it was strasburg who came down to the wire for signing. it's kind of refreshing to think about how far the nats organization has come.

wow, astros fail to sign top pick brady aiken. reminds me a lot of the controversy of signing harper and strasburg... i think it was strasburg who came down to the wire for signing. it's kind of refreshing to think about how far the nats organization has come.

It's pretty unbelievable.

The last 3 that didn't sign (and weren't eligible for NCAA, which might be the case here) became free agents. I really can't see MLB letting that happen in this case. Start the bidding at what, $20 million?

Grievances are sure to be filed, but this is a disaster for MLB.

Also, if they screwed over Jacob Nix too in this mess, it will be a MAJOR cluster-F for MLB.

Oh, wow, I went to sleep before this news came out. Our #3 and #5 prospects (in a very weak farm system). Not a bad price, especially since he has a $7mil option for next season if he doesn't immediately become a tire fire the second he puts on the Olde English D like every other reliever we've went out and signed in the last 4 years.

So did Kole Calhoun, but it was wasted. I was hoping to never see Richards do what he did last night again, but he started thinking about his press with the 3-1 lead and before he knew it, it was 4-3. He's got to stay focused and finish the job.

Yeah, that was a good game, but man am I dragging today with that ending at 1:30a on this coast.

If Tigers can win one more and come away with a split in Anaheim, it's practically a goshdarn watershed moment at this point considering the way Anaheim has beaten them like a washed-up stripped the last few years.

It's gonna be Pitt. Masterson to StL most likely rules them out (and probably means Price is off the block), LAD will keep Kemp (despite my earlier post), and Seattle will trade a couple bums for Marlon Byrd.

for those interested in following lester trade speculation: http://sonsofsamhorn.net/topic/84738-trading-jon-lester-news-and-speculation-thread/page-18

It's gonna be Pitt. Masterson to StL most likely rules them out (and probably means Price is off the block), LAD will keep Kemp (despite my earlier post), and Seattle will trade a couple bums for Marlon Byrd.

for those interested in following lester trade speculation: http://sonsofsamhorn.net/topic/84738-trading-jon-lester-news-and-speculation-thread/page-18

I hate to do this, but I think Billy Beane pulls some crap out of his a$$ this afternoon and Lester goes to Oakland, probably part of a multiple team trade (Tommy Millone likely part of it). The only thing that could possibly derail this is Oakland getting CarGo instead, which is probably better for that team anyway.

Pittsburgh gets AJ Burnett.

The Dodgers get Cole Hamels for Kemp and a prospect (I have no idea how the cash works in that one).

I agree Byrd goes to Seattle, with the Phils picking up part of the vesting option to up the prospect and for Byrd to waive his no-trade clause.

Crossing fingers he will be a loan to Baltimore. Although I know it's unlikely.

Would you give up Gausman? Bundy?

...

The Orioles are in advanced talks that would send a pitcher to Boston in exchange for Jon Lester, reports Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (on Twitter). MLB.com?s Britt Ghiroli tweets that the two sides are ?close? to a deal.

I'd say the rumors are wrong and the Sox want Gausman or Bundy. If they get Miggy they're settling.

I'm sorry - when I said key figure, that's who the O's apparently offered.

I don't think the O's will give up Gausman or Bundy for a two month rental - I certainly wouldn't. Gonzalez is under control for 4 more years and not even arb eligible until 2015, so it's enticing enough to take a look.

I don't think Boston is making out as much as everyone thinks. Cespedes is a free agent in 2015 - Oakland knew they couldn't resign him (2 months of Lester is worth 2 months of Cespedes as they likely would have traded him this offseason). His defense will be wasted in left field in Boston, though his power #'s should increase in that park. Still might be a negative WAR.

craig is signed through 2017 (team option for 2018), and he's have a remarkably bad year after having 3 straight excellent seasons. not good, excellent. the past two seasons were MVP-caliber even though he was largely unrecognized.

cespedes is no longer a young prospect and some of his plate discipline is concerning, but he's getting out of a tough division filled with pitchers parks and moving to the AL east where it's practically little league fields in comparison.

yeah, A+ to vansmack for calling OAK. but my prediction is heads will roll in OAK when it turns out they gutted their team for a win-now mentality and it doesn't work out. lester is a stud, but this is no roy halladay/cliff lee type of pick-up.

boston just traded for 2 all-star outfielders, mid relief, and got something in return for two pitchers who were out the door anyways.

just for fun, look at Oakland's line-up (http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/lineup/_/name/oak/oakland-athletics) and insert jonny gomes instead of yoenis cespedes. that's not a line-up i would want to trot out for a world series.

just for fun, look at Oakland's line-up (http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/lineup/_/name/oak/oakland-athletics) and insert jonny gomes instead of yoenis cespedes. that's not a line-up i would want to trot out for a world series.

first of all, no trades are going assure a World Series win... you can't guarantee it

but in October pitchers tend to dominate.... games tend to be low scoring..its COLD.....

just for fun, look at Oakland's line-up (http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/lineup/_/name/oak/oakland-athletics) and insert jonny gomes instead of yoenis cespedes. that's not a line-up i would want to trot out for a world series.

first of all, no trades are going assure a World Series win... you can't guarantee it

but in October pitchers tend to dominate.... games tend to be low scoring..its COLD.....

yeah, and what i'm saying is OAK is all in for 2014 and has gutted their future, and even if they make it to the WS, imagine that line-up vs kershaw, grienke, beckett, and ryu. hell, kershaw and grienke are better pitchers than anyone on the OAK staff. even though cespedes had an atrocious OBP, he was an RBI guy that drove in runs at the 5-spot. they'll now rely on brendan moss and donaldson to put runs on the board. it's NOT a good line-up.

just for fun, look at Oakland's line-up (http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/lineup/_/name/oak/oakland-athletics) and insert jonny gomes instead of yoenis cespedes. that's not a line-up i would want to trot out for a world series.

first of all, no trades are going assure a World Series win... you can't guarantee it

but in October pitchers tend to dominate.... games tend to be low scoring..its COLD.....

yeah, and what i'm saying is OAK is all in for 2014 and has gutted their future, and even if they make it to the WS, imagine that line-up vs kershaw, grienke, beckett, and ryu. hell, kershaw and grienke are better pitchers than anyone on the OAK staff. even though cespedes had an atrocious OBP, he was an RBI guy that drove in runs at the 5-spot. they'll now rely on brendan moss and donaldson to put runs on the board. it's NOT a good line-up.

they gutted their future by trading a guy they weren't going to sign?

explain that one to me..

nobody knows if the trade will end up being good.... we will have to wait....all I know is Beane really is all in for the playoffs this year...I like it..

just for fun, look at Oakland's line-up (http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/lineup/_/name/oak/oakland-athletics) and insert jonny gomes instead of yoenis cespedes. that's not a line-up i would want to trot out for a world series.

first of all, no trades are going assure a World Series win... you can't guarantee it

but in October pitchers tend to dominate.... games tend to be low scoring..its COLD.....

yeah, and what i'm saying is OAK is all in for 2014 and has gutted their future, and even if they make it to the WS, imagine that line-up vs kershaw, grienke, beckett, and ryu. hell, kershaw and grienke are better pitchers than anyone on the OAK staff. even though cespedes had an atrocious OBP, he was an RBI guy that drove in runs at the 5-spot. they'll now rely on brendan moss and donaldson to put runs on the board. it's NOT a good line-up.

they gutted their future by trading a guy they weren't going to sign?

explain that one to me..

nobody knows if the trade will end up being good.... we will have to wait....all I know is Beane really is all in for the playoffs this year...I like it..

lets remember when Boston traded Garciaparra which seemed insane...

AND there are still 2 hours left on the clock, no? :)

they gutted most of their future with the shark trade. cespedes still had one more relatively cheap year left and they wont re-sign lester.

i'm not saying the trade is good or bad, i'm saying their line-up is bad already and it just got worse. and they'll compete this year, sure, but the future is uncertain.

the red sox? they are trading past assets for present and future assets. whether their return pans out or not, they re-building the middle of their order fabulously.

just for fun, look at Oakland's line-up (http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/lineup/_/name/oak/oakland-athletics) and insert jonny gomes instead of yoenis cespedes. that's not a line-up i would want to trot out for a world series.

first of all, no trades are going assure a World Series win... you can't guarantee it

but in October pitchers tend to dominate.... games tend to be low scoring..its COLD.....

yeah, and what i'm saying is OAK is all in for 2014 and has gutted their future, and even if they make it to the WS, imagine that line-up vs kershaw, grienke, beckett, and ryu. hell, kershaw and grienke are better pitchers than anyone on the OAK staff. even though cespedes had an atrocious OBP, he was an RBI guy that drove in runs at the 5-spot. they'll now rely on brendan moss and donaldson to put runs on the board. it's NOT a good line-up.

they gutted their future by trading a guy they weren't going to sign?

explain that one to me..

nobody knows if the trade will end up being good.... we will have to wait....all I know is Beane really is all in for the playoffs this year...I like it..

lets remember when Boston traded Garciaparra which seemed insane...

AND there are still 2 hours left on the clock, no? :)

they gutted most of their future with the shark trade. cespedes still had one more relatively cheap year left and they wont re-sign lester.

i'm not saying the trade is good or bad, i'm saying their line-up is bad already and it just got worse. and they'll compete this year, sure, but the future is uncertain.

the red sox? they are trading past assets for present and future assets. whether their return pans out or not, they re-building the middle of their order fabulously.

so you're not REALLLY saying they gutted their future are you? more like they gutted 2015..

come on now... hyperbole much?

Cespedes is gutting your future???? with 1 year left?

I want to understand where you're coming from because I will fully admit I'm not baseball expert but.....

I heard this was off (not saying it won't be back on, but it's not done right now)

Yeah, just saw that. Morosi and a few others are saying Dodgers out of the Price talks and Detroit is kicking the tires there. Seems really unlikely since they'd want Smyly back as part of any package and he's currently on the mound throwing. I'm guessing once Detroit doesn't get Price they go back around to the Miller trade.

Beane gave up building from within years ago - especially position players. I don't think he drafted a single starter not on the pitching staff on this years team.

Billy Beane is clearly going all in this season, but at little risk. He hasn't forgotten that he started a combination of Bartolo Colon, Jarrod Parker and Sonny Gray against Justin Verlander/Max Scherzer in games 1 & 5 in 2012 and 2013 and lost all 4. He needed to counter and has with this deal.

Cespedes was nearly dealt this offseason to Arizona and wasn't - I think because of the Trumbo pickup. Maybe Beane is forgetting that he also lost game 5 because Cabrera hit a HR and the A's didn't score at all, but the truth is he knows he needs to lower his runs against, not his runs for, to avoid the one game playoff (though I really don't think Anaheim can catch them, but he's worried enough that he had to make a move.

Remove Cespedes' run production for Gomes and they're still +135-140. Now replace the 5th starter (or Hammel) with Lester and it's probably closer to +145-150. I'm not seeing the huge risk in 2014.

Cespedes wasn't going to play for the A's in 2015 anyway.

Boston on the other hand, gave up on 2014 and have made themselves much better for 2015.

I'm sure there's some CBA nuance you're going to explain to me now but why didn't the Sawx just agree to pay 1.15million of Lester's salary and make things easier?

You know I'm already doing the research. Thus far: Cespedes? contract calls for him to be non-tendered at the end of his deal (if he is not first extended) in order to assure him early free agency, and he therefore is ineligible to receive a qualifying offer following the 2015 season + the compensation pick is valued at $800k so.....

so you're not REALLLY saying they gutted their future are you? more like they gutted 2015..

come on now... hyperbole much?

Cespedes is gutting your future???? with 1 year left?

I want to understand where you're coming from because I will fully admit I'm not baseball expert but.....

yeah, that's EXACTLY what i'm saying. i don't think you realize they gave up one of the top prospects in baseball (addison russell, a stellar SS), billy mckinney (former 1st round pick), and dan staily (might be a decent #3 one day) just to land shark. i believe they lose a draft pick to boston for lester. by all means, they're gutting their future for 2014. lester is gone after this season, and they've traded away addison russell, billy mckinney, and dan staily, players who project to be above average, they are cheap, and the would be playing in 2015 and on.

I can't believe Seattle took Ajax. I can't believe Tampa didn't insist on Porcello. There has alot of people leaving Detroit's farm system in this trade. That can't be all David Price went for (and under contract for another year).

just for fun, look at Oakland's line-up (http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/lineup/_/name/oak/oakland-athletics) and insert jonny gomes instead of yoenis cespedes. that's not a line-up i would want to trot out for a world series.

first of all, no trades are going assure a World Series win... you can't guarantee it

but in October pitchers tend to dominate.... games tend to be low scoring..its COLD.....

yeah, and what i'm saying is OAK is all in for 2014 and has gutted their future, and even if they make it to the WS, imagine that line-up vs kershaw, grienke, beckett, and ryu. hell, kershaw and grienke are better pitchers than anyone on the OAK staff. even though cespedes had an atrocious OBP, he was an RBI guy that drove in runs at the 5-spot. they'll now rely on brendan moss and donaldson to put runs on the board. it's NOT a good line-up.

they gutted their future by trading a guy they weren't going to sign?

explain that one to me..

nobody knows if the trade will end up being good.... we will have to wait....all I know is Beane really is all in for the playoffs this year...I like it..

lets remember when Boston traded Garciaparra which seemed insane...

AND there are still 2 hours left on the clock, no? :)

responding to this late, but nobody thought trading nomar was insane. all advanced statistics pointed to a total demise in his abilities, which turned out to be true. that, and he wasn't getting along with the team. it was a no-brainer trade. if anyone thought it was insane, it's because they were total fanboys and enjoyed watching nomar turn into a star from the late 90's through 2003.

just for fun, look at Oakland's line-up (http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/lineup/_/name/oak/oakland-athletics) and insert jonny gomes instead of yoenis cespedes. that's not a line-up i would want to trot out for a world series.

first of all, no trades are going assure a World Series win... you can't guarantee it

but in October pitchers tend to dominate.... games tend to be low scoring..its COLD.....

yeah, and what i'm saying is OAK is all in for 2014 and has gutted their future, and even if they make it to the WS, imagine that line-up vs kershaw, grienke, beckett, and ryu. hell, kershaw and grienke are better pitchers than anyone on the OAK staff. even though cespedes had an atrocious OBP, he was an RBI guy that drove in runs at the 5-spot. they'll now rely on brendan moss and donaldson to put runs on the board. it's NOT a good line-up.

they gutted their future by trading a guy they weren't going to sign?

explain that one to me..

nobody knows if the trade will end up being good.... we will have to wait....all I know is Beane really is all in for the playoffs this year...I like it..

lets remember when Boston traded Garciaparra which seemed insane...

AND there are still 2 hours left on the clock, no? :)

responding to this late, but nobody thought trading nomar was insane. all advanced statistics pointed to a total demise in his abilities, which turned out to be true. that, and he wasn't getting along with the team. it was a no-brainer trade. if anyone thought it was insane, it's because they were total fanboys and enjoyed watching nomar turn into a star from the late 90's through 2003.

An interesting side-note in the Free-Press this morning mentions the Price deal was agreed to BEFORE the start of the 1pm Tigers game yesterday, and the delay in making it official was because the teams were exchanging medical information during the afternoon. Meanwhile, Smyly and Jackson PLAYED the 1pm game. How insane would it have been if Smyly had to leave the game with arm pain or Jackson crashed into a wall and got a concussion and the entire thing was scrapped?

An interesting side-note in the Free-Press this morning mentions the Price deal was agreed to BEFORE the start of the 1pm Tigers game yesterday, and the delay in making it official was because the teams were exchanging medical information during the afternoon. Meanwhile, Smyly and Jackson PLAYED the 1pm game. How insane would it have been if Smyly had to leave the game with arm pain or Jackson crashed into a wall and got a concussion and the entire thing was scrapped?

I also think the Tigers had already worked out an extension with Price using Scherzer money.

An interesting side-note in the Free-Press this morning mentions the Price deal was agreed to BEFORE the start of the 1pm Tigers game yesterday, and the delay in making it official was because the teams were exchanging medical information during the afternoon. Meanwhile, Smyly and Jackson PLAYED the 1pm game. How insane would it have been if Smyly had to leave the game with arm pain or Jackson crashed into a wall and got a concussion and the entire thing was scrapped?

I also think the Tigers had already worked out an extension with Price using Scherzer money.

The FP reported yesterday they had had no talks with Price prior to confirming the deal about an extension. Logically, obviously that $25million/year Scherzer doesn't want is going to Price.

it's been an blast watching LAD/LAA all week. i feel like the dodgers are on the verge of blowing out ahead in their division with kemp getting hot, puig in center, and a healthy rotation. however, agon and hanley are such a pathetic 3-4 combo. it makes sense to me to jumble the line-up, put kemp at the 3 spot, keep hanley at 4, and let adrian be a miserable bat at the 5 spot. hell, i'd even park his ass down at 6 or 7, and let van slyke bat 5th and uribe 6th. i can't think of many #3 hitters worse than him right now. take out his april stats (http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=gonzaad01&t=b&year=&share=2.53#1361-1445-sum:batting_gamelogs) this year and he's complete garbage.

I actually started panicking after the Halo's nabbed 3 runs off Kershaw and started errantly throwing the ball around the infield a couple times, managing to lose. I thought to myself, that's just not what good teams do.

love how robbie ray is pitching for detroit tonight and getting knocked around, and fister is pacing right along for the steady nats. time will tell, but that trade looks real nice for the nats right now.

But I'll drink to that. Never heard of the guy, seeing as how he's gone from A-ball to two (!) AA starts, how the hell could I have. I suppose I could have seen him throw a GA Tech game, but it clearly wasn't memorable.

i just realize that the greatest thing that could happen to baseball is KC and LAA win their divisions, and pitching-heavy and deadline dealers OAK and DET have to play a one-game wild card to get in. if that scenario plays out, which pitcher does each team pick?

i just realize that the greatest thing that could happen to baseball is KC and LAA win their divisions, and pitching-heavy and deadline dealers OAK and DET have to play a one-game wild card to get in. if that scenario plays out, which pitcher does each team pick?

can we talk about seattle's absurd +45 run differential since the trade deadline? Ajax hasn't done anything for them, but they are scoring runs like crazy and pitching incredible. this is the kind of effect experts said cano could have... his 1.011 OPS in august surely has a lot to do with their success.

What are the chances the new commish makes both leagues play by the same rules? I know this is coming off an O's sweep by the lowly Cubbies, but an AL team playing without a DH has to affect them much more than an NL team playing with a DH.

Billy might be regretting the Cespedes deal, but I think he's missing the point. Anaheim has scored twice in this series on balls where Cespedes threw out runners back in May. His defense is as much of a loss as his offense.

Billy might be regretting the Cespedes deal, but I think he's missing the point. Anaheim has scored twice in this series on balls where Cespedes threw out runners back in May. His defense is as much of a loss as his offense.

not to mention, cespedes keeps winning games for the red sox left and right. i think he's had 5 winning/go ahead hit for the sox to date. is their a stat for that? their has to be to a stat for that.

craig is signed through 2017 (team option for 2018), and he's have a remarkably bad year after having 3 straight excellent seasons. not good, excellent. the past two seasons were MVP-caliber even though he was largely unrecognized.

cespedes is no longer a young prospect and some of his plate discipline is concerning, but he's getting out of a tough division filled with pitchers parks and moving to the AL east where it's practically little league fields in comparison.

yeah, A+ to vansmack for calling OAK. but my prediction is heads will roll in OAK when it turns out they gutted their team for a win-now mentality and it doesn't work out. lester is a stud, but this is no roy halladay/cliff lee type of pick-up.

boston just traded for 2 all-star outfielders, mid relief, and got something in return for two pitchers who were out the door anyways.

seattle has 7 upcoming games against the astros and rangers, and detroit has to play the likes of cleveland, KC, and SF - all wild card contenders. seattle could gain some serious ground here... regardless, this is going to be a fun couple of weeks leading up to october.

I am 100% in favor of an all AL West wild card game, so long as the Angels aren't one of the teams in the game.

Honestly, as a Tigers fan, I am too. Detroit making the playoffs is only going to end in some absurd ignominy like Scherzer throwing a no-no but us scoring no runs and losing in the 12th inning or our bullpen giving up 8 in the 9th or something else historically dumb.

I am 100% in favor of an all AL West wild card game, so long as the Angels aren't one of the teams in the game.

Honestly, as a Tigers fan, I am too. Detroit making the playoffs is only going to end in some absurd ignominy like Scherzer throwing a no-no but us scoring no runs and losing in the 12th inning or our bullpen giving up 8 in the 9th or something else historically dumb.

A very weird play in the Tigers/Indians game yesterday. Wish I could find footage because its hard to explain, I really have never seen this happen. Bottom of the 8th, Tigers leading 4-3 with runners on second and third and one out. CC Lee pitching for Cleveland and he gets the signal to intentionally walk Kinsler to load the bases and try to get Torii Hunter to hit into a double play. Catcher sticks his hand out to the right, sure enough, Lee throws it four feet right of home plate, a standard intentional walk ball. Catcher throws it back, sticks his arm out again.

As soon as Lee goes into his windup, the catcher does the traditional two-steps to his right to catch the ball, but Lee throws a fastball right down the middle of the plate (albeit high out of the strike zone). The catcher dives back and misses, the ball goes all the way to the backstop, runner scores from third, turns up being the winning run. I rewound it several times, I have no idea what he was doing. He acknowledged it was an intentional walk with a first pitch five feet off the plate. Did somehow his intentional walk pitch get away from him? It was crazy.

My question, though, is the scoring. They called it a wild-pitch. How is this not a passed ball? A catcher under average ability - positioned properly behind the plate - catches that ball 99.99999% of the time. Shouldn't the catcher being horrifically out-of-position make it a passed ball, not a wild pitch?

10.13 Wild Pitches And Passed BallsA wild pitch is defined in Rule 2.00 (Wild Pitch). A passed ball is a statistic charged against a catcher whose action has caused a runner or runners to advance, as set forth in this Rule 10.13.(a) The official scorer shall charge a pitcher with a wild pitch when a legally delivered ball is so high, so wide or so low that the catcher does not stop and control the ball by ordinary effort, thereby permitting a runner or runners to advance. [EDIT]

(b) The official scorer shall charge a catcher with a passed ball when the catcher fails to hold or to control a legally pitched ball that should have been held or controlled with ordinary effort, thereby permitting a runner or runners to advance. [EDIT]

I think they got it right. "Ordinary effort" is not the same as "ordinary positioning" and rule 10.14(b) describes an intentional base on balls as when the catcher has his arm out so it would be ordinary positioning to be standing and have an arm out expecting the ball to be outside the strike zone.

"Ordinary effort" is not the same as "ordinary positioning" and rule 10.14(b) describes an intentional base on balls as when the catcher has his arm out so it would be ordinary positioning to be standing and have an arm out expecting the ball to be outside the strike zone.

I heard people talking about it on Baseball Tonight, but in the context of ruining the dream of speeding up the game. One of the ideas was to eliminate the intentional base on balls and just give the batter a "free pass" because nobody ever screws that up. Oops.

In doing my research this morning, I also learned that a batter can refuse a base on balls and be called out. Hope to see that some day....

In doing my research this morning, I also learned that a batter can refuse a base on balls and be called out. Hope to see that some day....

I feel like a team once was attempting to be IBB Miggy and threw a pitch too close to the plate and he hit it for an RBI-single. This is quite possibly a very realistic fever dream I somehow had as I cannot provide more details.

My dream sports "call" I want to see is a one-point safety being called against the kicking team on an XP. (Seen it twice on the defending squad.) I would also like to see a successful fair-catch kick flip the outcome of a game. Don't think ones been successfully attempted in twenty+ years.

Golf and baseball are definitely 1 and 2 for obscure rule-based ephemera, but football has some interesting ones.

I feel like a team once was attempting to be IBB Miggy and threw a pitch too close to the plate and he hit it for an RBI-single. This is quite possibly a very realistic fever dream I somehow had as I cannot provide more details.

I remember the Oregon/K-State bowl game a couple years ago where that happened, but that's only one I can recall on defense. I've never seen it on offense either.

Texas v Texas A&M, around a decade ago.

I don't believe it has ever occurred on offense. Its theoretically possible but almost definitely could not happen. A player would have to block an XP, pick it up and run it ~95 yards and start Leon Lett'ing and be stripped of the ball shortly before the goal line. The player who caused the fumble would either (a) have to recover it in the field of play, run into the endzone on his own volition in some insane attempt to return the ball 100 yards for two-points (after just running what was presumably a sprint of close to 100 yards to catch the XP blocker to begin with) and be tackled in the endzone with the ball, or (b) the fumbled ball would have to go into the endzone on its own and be fallen on by either the stripper or another player on the kicking team. It'll never happen, but it technically could. Extra awesomeness if that single-point turned up to be that teams only point of the game resulting in the first modern-era football game to end with a team scoring a single-point.

The Niners were close a couple of years ago. Dawson tried from 70+ and missed wide left to end the half. It was awesome - the whole bar stopped to watch it.

I think it was the 49ers/Ravens SB two years ago where if the Ravens had squib-kicked the final kickoff, it was a legitimate possibility for a Super Bowl fair-catch kick. I was openly hoping - despite not caring who won - that John Harbaugh was unaware of the rule and did not kick deep. I maybe haven't wanted anything to happen in a sporting event not involving a team I root quite so badly. It would've been amazing. Make it or miss it, the internet would've exploded.

Derek Jeter is not the greatest player ever, even among his current teammates. That honor belongs to Ichiro. Someone please tell me why Ichiro consistently bats eight or ninth in the Yankee lineup, despite having the highest average of any starter?

If Jeter had played in Seattle his whole career, you'd hardly hear anything about him.

Let's talk about the important things - if you're the Giants/Pirates/A's/Royals, how important is home field for the one game playoff? Who do you pitch on Sunday if it might decide whether or not you have to travel to, say Pittsburgh or San Francisco?

For the Royals and A's, I hope they think it's very important so their #1 and #2 get used up before the ALDS in Anaheim....

Let's talk about the important things - if you're the Giants/Pirates/A's/Royals, how important is home field for the one game playoff? Who do you pitch on Sunday if it might decide whether or not you have to travel to, say Pittsburgh or San Francisco?

For the Royals and A's, I hope they think it's very important so their #1 and #2 get used up before the ALDS in Anaheim....

Derek Jeter is not the greatest player ever, even among his current teammates. That honor belongs to Ichiro. Someone please tell me why Ichiro consistently bats eight or ninth in the Yankee lineup, despite having the highest average of any starter?

If Jeter had played in Seattle his whole career, you'd hardly hear anything about him.

Derek Jeter is not the greatest player ever, even among his current teammates. That honor belongs to Ichiro. Someone please tell me why Ichiro consistently bats eight or ninth in the Yankee lineup, despite having the highest average of any starter?

If Jeter had played in Seattle his whole career, you'd hardly hear anything about him.

say what? isn't he sixth on the all time hits list?

Had Ichiro spent his whole career in MLB instead of Japan for his prime, he'd probably be top three all time in hits.

Probably not, because they're a good road team and Shields is scheduled to throw tomorrow, lining him up nicely for Tuesday. But what about Oakland being 16 games above .500 at home and -1 on the road?

I think there's no way Bumgarner throws on Sunday either, but either Liriano or Cole will have to sit for the Bucs.

Derek Jeter is not the greatest player ever, even among his current teammates. That honor belongs to Ichiro. Someone please tell me why Ichiro consistently bats eight or ninth in the Yankee lineup, despite having the highest average of any starter?

If Jeter had played in Seattle his whole career, you'd hardly hear anything about him.

say what? isn't he sixth on the all time hits list?

Had Ichiro spent his whole career in MLB instead of Japan for his prime, he'd probably be top three all time in hits.

I love Ichiro and don't disagree with you although I don't know that I would consider him a better player than Jeter or maybe I would (Listen, I'm a Jeter basher myself but the facts are the facts.. the guy has four or five World Series rings and at least in the first half of his career was fairly clutch...).....but Jeter did spend his whole career and only five people have more hits in the MLB....you can't knock him because of what Ichiro might have accomplished... and, having lived in Japan 5 years, let me assure you Japanese baseball is an entire different animal so don't add all his Japan hits to his US hits or assume its comparable or that he'd have developed the same way had he been born in the US or something....

is Jeter limping towards the end? yes.... is he a defensive liability? yes..... but at the end of the day he proved his naysayer wrong.. i thought he was done quite a few years ago and the guy that ended up being done was Nomar... Jeter recaptured some of his magic and prolonged his career in a way i did not think possible..although he was never mr. clutch again.

Baseball is a team sport. Jeter has five rings because George bought the teams that could win five rings. If Jeter had been on the Mariners, the Yanks would probably still have won five Series. The Seattle owners never spent any money, of course Ichiro never got any rings.

I love Ichiro and don't disagree with you although I don't know that I would consider him a better player than Jeter or maybe I would (Listen, I'm a Jeter basher myself but the facts are the facts.. the guy has four or five World Series rings and at least in the first half of his career was fairly clutch...).....but Jeter did spend his whole career and only five people have more hits in the MLB....you can't knock him because of what Ichiro might have accomplished... and, having lived in Japan 5 years, let me assure you Japanese baseball is an entire different animal so don't add all his Japan hits to his US hits or assume its comparable or that he'd have developed the same way had he been born in the US or something....

I'm loathe to link to Bleacher Report but since I can't find the analysis I remembered reading, this was a pretty good, cited link to some analysis that agrees with the idea that hypothetical MLB-Only Ichiro would not have lost a ton of his 4,000 professional hits.

Let's say Cleveland somehow wins out and gets to 88 wins. Kansas City falters (in part because of Cleveland sweeping them) and gets to 88 wins. Seattle only wins 3 more and also finishes with 88 wins. Oakland wins at least 3 and gets the first wild card, and Detroit wins the Central. With three teams tied for the second wild-card spot, what sort of weird one-game round robin would we be looking at?

Hypothetical number 2: the same as above but this time Oakland stumbles down the stretch and all four teams are tied at 88 wins? How does that Wild Card scenario get resolved?

Let's say Cleveland somehow wins out and gets to 88 wins. Kansas City falters (in part because of Cleveland sweeping them) and gets to 88 wins. Seattle only wins 3 more and also finishes with 88 wins. Oakland wins at least 3 and gets the first wild card, and Detroit wins the Central. With three teams tied for the second wild-card spot, what sort of weird one-game round robin would we be looking at?

Hypothetical number 2: the same as above but this time Oakland stumbles down the stretch and all four teams are tied at 88 wins? How does that Wild Card scenario get resolved?

Let's say Cleveland somehow wins out and gets to 88 wins. Kansas City falters (in part because of Cleveland sweeping them) and gets to 88 wins. Seattle only wins 3 more and also finishes with 88 wins. Oakland wins at least 3 and gets the first wild card, and Detroit wins the Central. With three teams tied for the second wild-card spot, what sort of weird one-game round robin would we be looking at?

Hypothetical number 2: the same as above but this time Oakland stumbles down the stretch and all four teams are tied at 88 wins? How does that Wild Card scenario get resolved?

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/59527184/playoff-tiebreaker-rules

Thank you, but you're missing some of the subtle nuance of this situation. Smackie greatly enjoys researching this sort of baseball minutia and explaining it to me, and I greatly enjoy not having to do any research whatsoever and listening to my baseball bed time story from Uncle Smacks. Yes, I can get the information this way, but you're ruining it for us. *stomps foot*

When I first heard the three-way scenario on the MLB Network one night, I thought it was AWESOME!

Then I realized it was basically how they used to decide the NCAA World Series and remembered how shitty that was. But basically, based on head to head records and division records they seed them 1,2,3. Team 1 plays Team 2, winner plays Team 3 and that winner moves on. How it's fair that one team has to win Two Games and one only has to win once I'll never understand, but they can't go on forever.

A four way tie is simple - 1 plays 2, 3 plays 4. For one spot, winner game one plays the winner of game 2. For two wildcard spots, the winners of Game One and Game two are the Wild Cards, they each other to move on.

Also, with his final scheduled start complete, Minnesota Twins RHP Phil Hughes has the best single-season strikeout-to-walk ratio (http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?c_id=min&gid=2014_09_24_arimlb_minmlb_1&mode=recap&partnerId=as_mlb_20140924_32253396) IN HISTORY.

I will openly admit, Jeter and Peyton manning are my two most hated athletes. Jeter's personality is just obnoxious.

You know, I can't make an objective case for Jeter being more odious than A-Rod, but there's something about Jeter and Peyton's ability to skate on everything that drives me nuts. Jeter is a vain, womanizing, arrogant asshole who has been subpar defensively his entire career, and hasn't been any good in five years. The guy is probably riddled with venereal disease, and yet he's held up like the epitome of class. A-Rod is a cheating, vain, womanizing asshole who is called out on being a cheating, vain womanizing asshole. That doesn't make me "like" A-Rod but I at least feel he's gotten what's coming to him while the baseball media glorifies Jeter and openly weep at his retirement.

Peyton is the most overhyped, accomplish nothing athlete of our generation, and is by all accounts a terrible teammate. He called an All-Star teammate a liquored up idiot on National television. He went 0-4 against his biggest rival in college and instead of any accountability from anyone about that, Tennessee fans openly weep and gnash their teeth to this day that "Peyton Manning's Heisman" was stolen in 1997. He has a losing record in the playoffs all time, usually as a result of his subpar play and turnovers. But that's never the Peyton Manning narrative, its how he's virtually a coach and makes a million decisions on the fly.

I guess I have real issues with people who are Teflon and nothing they do ever sticks to them.

You know, I can't make an objective case for Jeter being more odious than A-Rod, but there's something about Jeter and Peyton's ability to skate on everything that drives me nuts. Jeter is a vain, womanizing, arrogant asshole who has been subpar defensively his entire career, and hasn't been any good in five years. The guy is probably riddled with venereal disease, and yet he's held up like the epitome of class.

OK i can't argue with this because its the stupidest thing I've read...

In over 2900 games Jeter never got tossed once which I would say is pretty classy..... As far as short stops who played the game he is top five in most every hitting statistic...

As far as his dating life who cares? I don't even know that much about it... but with your criteria I guess you would have also hated Babe Ruth and dozens of other great ballplayers...

I agree he's been sub par defensively for a while..but the man does have five gold gloves and definitely made some nice catches and throws...

At the end of the day I'm left to conclude you're just Jeter haters to the point you're blind to his baseball accomplishments which is sad for you..

Jeter was a better hitter. But it was closer than you might think. They had similar strengths offensively. At their best, they were .300 hitters with some power and some speed. Both lost deserving MVP awards to players who hit a lot of home runs and had a lot of RBIs. Jeter played in a historically high scoring time which inflated his numbers. Trammell played in a low-scoring time, which depressed his. So their actual numbers diverge. Plus Jeter was much more dependable which is no small thing. Jeter played in 300-plus more games. He played 140-plus games in 15 seasons. Trammell because of injuries and such managed only eight 140-game seasons.

Did you see Shemp's article above? This is an indefensible statement. Its like all people remember is that one time he went into the 3rd base seats and the staggering mathematical evidence that disagrees with one isolated incident.

Also, with his final scheduled start complete, Minnesota Twins RHP Phil Hughes has the best single-season strikeout-to-walk ratio (http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?c_id=min&gid=2014_09_24_arimlb_minmlb_1&mode=recap&partnerId=as_mlb_20140924_32253396) IN HISTORY.

Also got totally screwed by the rain yesterday. 1/3 of an inning away from a $500k bonus.

I'm a Tigers fan and I always thought Trammell was a borderline HoF'er at best. There's people in both the Tigers fan community (and some statisticians) who argue he's a top-ten all-time SS and I just don't know what those people are on.

Even I have to believe the bit about him being a great defensive player was a joke

Alan Trammel was a heck of a ballplayer...loved him....

oh what a load of baloney.....i mean he's going to be looked down on by you and a bunch of Jeter haters but I think most people realize there is nothing wrong with sex between consenting adults....or with people not getting married (for whatever reason)....

"Jeter has recorded the most multi-hit games against the Orioles all-time (105) and scored more runs (205) against them than any other player. His 351 hits against the Orioles trail only Carl Yastrzemski (363) and his 69 doubles are second to Yastrzemski's 83.

Jeter's 290 games played against the Orioles are the third-most all-time, behind Al Kaline (345) and Yastrzemski (343).

Jeter's 184 hits and 99 runs scored at Camden Yards are the most by anyone who hasn't played for the Orioles."

I think most people would look down on a 40+ man who is still a player with the women. They would regard it as a severe lack of maturation.

that is idiotic..if a 40 year old single man wants to have concensual sex with women I don't know what business it is of anybody's else...or why anybody would look down on it.

pretty sure the people who look down on it are the ones who married the first chick that would have sex with them..

anyways, it has zero to do with jeter as a ballplayer.... and in case you're not aware of it many ballplayers get plenty of tail

you know i don't.

but i actually think your implication is sexist....what? women dont' want to have consensual sex with plenty of men?? its bad for them to?

there is nothing wrong with people having sex...as much as they want with whoever they want...

utter tosh... the idea that men having sex with multiple partners must necessarily view it as notches in their belt? WTF is that? Some men do and some men don't..just like some women do and some don't

your problem James Fordish is that you look at the world and assume everyone looks at it the way you do.... but even where that so, and its open to debate, you seem to believe that a majority thinking one thing or the other means something...

The majority is often a bunch of sheeple.... I mean who cares if most people think something or don't?

A majority of people thought for centuries that being gay was a terrible thing....who gives a shit what the majority thinks??

But I guess feeling a majority agrees with you makes you feel secure....its weird.. you see I'm the opposite.. when I see a majority agrees with me I get worried..

In a normal situation, he would've been benched four seasons ago, and retired three seasons ago. But, you know, his ego is more important than the team competing for the playoffs with actual MLB-caliber players. What leadership! What class!

Let's talk about the important things - if you're the Giants/Pirates/A's/Royals, how important is home field for the one game playoff? Who do you pitch on Sunday if it might decide whether or not you have to travel to, say Pittsburgh or San Francisco?

The Bucs could go all out this weekend to avoid the Wild Card and start Liriano and Cole, leaving them with Liriano on 3 days rest to face the Giants on Wednesday. What a gamble!

Let's talk about the important things - if you're the Giants/Pirates/A's/Royals, how important is home field for the one game playoff? Who do you pitch on Sunday if it might decide whether or not you have to travel to, say Pittsburgh or San Francisco?

The Bucs could go all out this weekend to avoid the Wild Card and start Liriano and Cole, leaving them with Liriano on 3 days rest to face the Giants on Wednesday. What a gamble!

Holy shit, Hurdle's going to do it. This is a a huge mistake. Best case scenario, you win today against Cueto, Wainright somehow loses to the D-Backs, you throw Volquez tomorrow against Shelby Miller (?) and have Locke or Worley for the Wildcard or game one of the NLDS?

This year?s postseason offers the most intriguing set of potential geographic matchups in years. There are four possible World Series matchups involving local rivals: Dodgers-Angels, Nationals-Orioles, Cardinals-Royals and A?s-Giants. An earlier round could feature a series between the Dodgers and the Giants, one of baseball?s most historic rivalries.

It may be the largest group of potential regional matchups in the era of expanded playoffs, which began in 1995.

I obviously grew up in Anaheim, know a ton of Dodger fans, lived in DC when Baltimore was the only game in town and still have ties to a ton of DC folks, and now live next to the ballpark in SF and work near Oakland. I even have some close friends from my Commish days in KC.

Julian's all I got on the Tigers, but he's known to be outspoken...

This might be the greatest playoff scenario I could possibly have dreamed up.

I've got tickets for Game 5, but I'd gladly take a refund and go to the ALCS.

I'm nowhere near as optimistic about Detroit's chances as I was the last three years. Detroit will dominate one game in this series; Baltimore will too. Detroit will lose one game of the 1-0 or 2-1 variety, and their bullpen will give up 5 in another. Baltimore in 4.

as far as predicting...everything is irrelevant.. .each game has a life of its own....all we can say are some teams arrive at the playoffs looking terrible (like Oakland) while others look great (the Nats)

that's about the only factor i would consider in making predictions...

The AL East Champion Baltimore Orioles will host the AL Central Champion Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the AL Division Series at Camden Yards on Thursday, October 2nd at either 5:37 p.m. (ET) or 6:07 p.m. (ET), depending on the winner of the AL Wild Card Game. Later that evening, at either 9:07 p.m. (ET)/6:07 p.m. (PT) or 9:37 p.m. (ET)/6:37 p.m. (PT), the AL West Champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will host the winner of the AL Wild Card Game (either the Oakland Athletics or the Kansas City Royals) in Game 1 of the ALDS at Angel Stadium. Both of Thursday?s games will be exclusively televised by TBS.

On Friday, October 3rd, the Eastern start times of the four Division Series games will be 12:07 p.m.; 3:07 p.m.; 6:37 p.m.; and either 9:37 p.m. or 10:07 p.m. The Division Series matchups in those time slots are still to be determined based on the winners of the AL and NL Wild Card Games presented by Budweiser.

With the loss, the A's fall to 1?12 in series-clinching games during the Billy Beane era

i almost felt bad after posting that. i've been actively rooting against oakland this year for really no specific reason besides the lovefest for billy beane that continues to pour out. the reality is, what billy beane has done for baseball is a far greater accomplishment then anything else in the past decade or so. now that they are out, my feelings are all too bi-polar.

With the loss, the A's fall to 1?12 in series-clinching games during the Billy Beane era

i almost felt bad after posting that. i've been actively rooting against oakland this year for really no specific reason besides the lovefest for billy beane that continues to pour out. the reality is, what billy beane has done for baseball is a far greater accomplishment then anything else in the past decade or so. now that they are out, my feelings are all too bi-polar.

Agreed. My hatred for the teams that throw money at everything far exceeds the notoriety he has achieved.

rough game. tough to see the bucs go out like that but they never had a chance tonight. bumgarner was as good as it gets.

nice to see the pittsburgh fans give russell martin an ovation after his last at bat. im not optimistic but i hope they resign him

i was definitely pulling for the pirates but i think the giants are actually better result for the nats. they didnt close the season nearly as well as the pirates and theyve got some big injuries. all that playoff experience is a big deal though, so who knows. should be a tight series. wouldnt surprise me if it goes 5.

they said peavy/hudson/bumgarner/petit for the giants rotation. nothing official but that seems about right for days of rest. hudsons been tricky for the nats over the years so itll be interesting to see who williams counters with

williams had a good second half but they say everyones manager of the year material with expanded rosters so the real test will be how he puts the playoff roster together and how he manages playoff games.

but the royals showed that you can win playoff games in spite of your manager, so who knows

youre the only person ive seen object to the pirates playing for the division on sunday

Johnny Cueto, the guy they couldn't beat on Sunday but tried with their better pitcher, is better than Madison Bumgarner. Adam Wainright, the guy they hoped would lose to the team with the worst record in baseball and was without a manager, is better than Madison Bumgarner.

Read Dave Schoenfeld, Buster Olney and Ken Rosenthal - they all said after the loss on Saturday that this makes the decision easier on Sunday to rest Cole for the Wild Card.

I agree that it might not have made a difference with the way Bumgarner threw last night, but the manager did not give his team the best chance to win the biggest game of the season last night, the only game where the Pirates could control their own destiny. Bochy did.

it amazes me how dombrowski has all the money in the world to spend on the tigers, but never puts together a remotely competent bullpen

The crazy thing is, its his stated point of emphasis the last few offseasons. He goes out and spends on it, and players immediately suck when they come to Detroit's pen. Leave Detroit, back to really good. Look at Benoit. Its maddening.

I'd swear there's a gas leak in Detroit's physical bullpen, but it happens on the road too.

i understand looking at his whole season and not just the last month, but that has to be a favor to boras. williams seemed hesitant to even use him in mop up situations so i just cant see what his playoff usage could possibly be

personally i wish theyd taken another infielder, cuz who knows how limited zimmrman will be. not sure who though, since none of the september callup infielders really deserved it

Funny story. Those that know me know that I own an exercise bike and would never use it except when there were important sports games on. I would carry it out to the front room and ride it all game long...

I moved in with my fiancee a while back and the bike didn't make the cut for her tastes (plus we have some in our building gym). Last night as I'm pacing around the place, sitting on top of the back and arms of furniture, throwing my hat around the room, she asks "where did this come from?" Remember that exercise bike you made me get rid of? Well, this is why I owned it. When I went to get my Louisville Slugger out of the closet for extra innings, she grabbed it and said we'll find something safer for tomorrow.

She's stopping by the sporting goods store today to get me something else to take away the anxiety of watching playoff baseball. After Game One.

I'm not the biggest Harold Reynolds fan, but he was spot on with that at bat. Carpenter knew every pitch that Kershaw was throwing that at bat. I can't believe Ellis didn't walk to the mound to call that pitch.

So I guess the Halo's will exercise the option on Huston Street, but probably let Sean Burnett go (that's a bit of a sad story).

The only free agent worth keeping is Jason Grilli - MacDonald, Thatcher and Buck are expendable.

Garret Richards is the only arb eligible player that will cost a little bit of money. Considering it was a leg injury, now might be a good time to lock him up long term with the money the team gets back with the Vernon Wells deal finally expiring. Yes, he made $18.5m this season.

That puts payroll at about $160m giving Dipoto about $20m to find a real third baseman, even though both Beckham and Freese are signed for 2 more years. Maybe add a lefty to the pen?

Anybody want to take Hamilton off our hands? Surprisingly, the Angels only have for free agent signings on the roster - everyone else came up through the system or was acquired via trade. Unfortunately, three of them cost a fortune and underperform: Pujols, Hamilton and Wilson. I like the Joe Smith deal still.

I'm totally on the KC bandwagon. Either other remaining team would be painful.

Not to make this all about the Tigers, but we've seen this before. Hmm, team steamrolls thru the AL, sits there for a week while the NL plays out in longform, and then walks into the World Series rusty? I know how this ends.

^^^^^ I fear the same thing. Although the Giants could wrap it up tonight and also get 4 days off... They could go all LA Kings and win it all though. The commentary would be "Well, the Royals didn't face the adversity and the hot streak just went cold. The Giants are a veteran team." Blah blah. I really don't want to see the Giants win again. OR the Cardinals to come back.

pujols wouldnt really shock me, but the whole "scandal" means nothing to me so i couldnt care less honestly. players have been taking things they shouldnt to get an edge for pretty much the entire history of the game, why the uproar now.

i just think its ridiculous that "he suddenly became good" or "he was good for a long time" are considered valid reasons to throw someone under the bus. baseball is full of oddities, and there are plenty of late bloomers and inexplicably long careers.

maybe im just young enough to not yet be jaded enough to immediately assume the worst

What cracks me up with baseball is the unparalleled hatred for Barry Bonds even before he was proven to have done anything wrong... and yet you have Braun being cheered on and etc etc...

Barry Bonds, for those too young to remember, was Mr. Evil Ballplayer for years -nobody awoke so much hatred (still does)- while everyone around him was doing the same thing....say what you will about Arod but at least he had the decency not to be a hypocrite, on Bonds, and stood with the guy when he "broke" Aaron's record.

What cracks me up with baseball is the unparalleled hatred for Barry Bonds even before he was proven to have done anything wrong... and yet you have Braun being cheered on and etc etc...

Barry Bonds, for those too young to remember, was Mr. Evil Ballplayer for years -nobody awoke so much hatred (still does)- while everyone around him was doing the same thing....say what you will about Arod but at least he had the decency not to be a hypocrite, on Bonds, and stood with the guy when he "broke" Aaron's record.

funny you mention bonds as i was writing my own reference to him.

i do find his media/fan perception fascinating. i think he was always hated for being a bit of a jerk (but if you had as much talent as he did from the very start, youd be a jerk too) so when the steroid boom came to light it was just easy to pile more hate on him.

although i wouldnt exactly say braun has been cheered on. brewers fans still love him but why wouldnt they? outside of milwaukee he gets it as hard as anyone not a-rod.

which is another weird phenomena. fans are all about hating the villainous steroid cheats unless its their guy, then its no big deal. bonds actually appeared in san fran before yesterdays game and got a standing ovation from what i read.

as much as i claimed to not care about this series at all, its been a good one.

definitely got a bad feeling about KC versus either of these teams. not so much the layoff (if the giants win tonight theyll be off for just about as long before the world series) but the way both nl teams always play their best at the perfect time. kc has that team of destiny feeling going on, but for how much longer? i just feel like ned yost's ways are eventually gonna blow up and the giants or cards will take advantage unlike any al club could

as much as i claimed to not care about this series at all, its been a good one.

definitely got a bad feeling about KC versus either of these teams. not so much the layoff (if the giants win tonight theyll be off for just about as long before the world series) but the way both nl teams always play their best at the perfect time. kc has that team of destiny feeling going on, but for how much longer? i just feel like ned yost's ways are eventually gonna blow up and the giants or cards will take advantage unlike any al club could

yup...agree on that too....i don't care if this series goes 7..whoever wins it is going to expose the royals...

Matheny, when asked about not using Rosenthal in the 9th, said "we can't use our closer in the 9th, in a road game" - amazing. He managed for the save stat, and not to win a game that ended up being the last game of his season.

Matheny, when asked about not using Rosenthal in the 9th, said "we can't use our closer in the 9th, in a road game" - amazing. He managed for the save stat, and not to win a game that ended up being the last game of his season.

Olbermann made the point, quite convincingly, that Matheny was lying. Because the truth was his relievers stunk it up all series, but he wasn't going to come out and say that. So he took the hit.

Olbermann made the point, quite convincingly, that Matheny was lying. Because the truth was his relievers stunk it up all series, but he wasn't going to come out and say that. So he took the hit.

WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE!

So his alternative was to use a right handed guy who hasn't thrown a pitch since Sept 26, and has only thrown 16 2/3 innings since June 17?

OK, fine. But after the lefty Belt was walked, with another lefty coming up, you stick with the guy despite his obvious control problems? You have two lefties in the pen and the weak hitting Ishikawa at the plate! And your closer!

Matheny definitely takes the loss, and I can't fault him for trotting Wacha out there to start the 9th, but at some point you have to win or lose with what got you there, and he didn't do that.

didn't work out.....Cards were going down anyways... even if he had put in Rosenthal or whoever I have a feeling the Giants would have won that game...

you have to wonder just why he had to take out wainwright....he was under 100 pitches not that in that situation it really would matter to me if he was at 125... people are saying that its because wainwright is hurt.. its hard to buy into the "didn't have anything left" when he struck out the side in the 7th....

I haven't done the full research yet, but only 18 World Series have gone to 6 games since 1980, so something isn't right.

EDIT - I think I see what he's saying - he's counting total games played, not series outcomes. Adding those that went to games 6 & 7, but even then it would 27 games played, not 26. When I get more time...

The higher Seed has won 10 World Series on the road, only losing 5 with the 2-3-2 format.

Bleacher Reports small sample size was convenient to their point, as 3 of those 5 wins have come in the last 5 World Series that didn't return to the home ball park. Not coincidentally, the All-Star game also determined home field advantage since then.

But all in all, since 1980, the team with 4 home games has won 25 World Series and only lost 8.

Even since the change in 2003, the team with home field advantage has won 7 of 11 World Series titles.

Sorry James - no data supports your theory.

EDIT: I also need to correct one thing I said earlier. Home Field for the World Series used to alternate between the AL and NL - it wasn't determined by record. So the 2003 change is probably not as significant as I thought.

This week, more people watched ?NCIS: New Orleans? and ?The Big Bang Theory,? and ? for that matter ? ?The Walking Dead,? the cable show about zombies [than watched either World Series game]. The audience for ?Sunday Night Football,? a regular season game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos, was almost twice that of Games 1 or 2. Even last Saturday night?s college football matchup ? Florida State University versus Notre Dame ? drew more viewers than either World Series game.

Perhaps the most compelling statement about baseball?s relative standing among American sports fans is this: Last summer?s World Cup match between the United States and Portugal drew 25 million viewers, roughly double that of the World Series opener.

I heard a report that Maddon didn't even know he had an opt out. Until Friedman called to tell him.

I don't know that he called him, but Maddon claims that he didn't know that Friedman's departure would trigger the opt out. It was more likely his agent that called him, but Friedman may have called his agent...

"Since 1982, 10 teams have come home trailing three games to two like the Royals. Eight of them won: in 2011, 2002, 2001, 1991, 1987, 1986, 1985 (Kansas City) and 1982.

But the 1992 Blue Jays and 2003 Marlins were in the Giants? position and won on the road. Odds even out. This run of amazing closeouts at home even when behind ? aided by acts of fate, umpire mistakes and heroics, especially in momentum-turning Game 6s associated with names like David Freese, Randy Johnson, Kirby Puckett, umpire Don Denkinger and Bill Buckner ? may wind down after 32 years of shocking us."

"Since 1982, 10 teams have come home trailing three games to two like the Royals. Eight of them won: in 2011, 2002, 2001, 1991, 1987, 1986, 1985 (Kansas City) and 1982.

But the 1992 Blue Jays and 2003 Marlins were in the Giants? position and won on the road. Odds even out. This run of amazing closeouts at home even when behind ? aided by acts of fate, umpire mistakes and heroics, especially in momentum-turning Game 6s associated with names like David Freese, Randy Johnson, Kirby Puckett, umpire Don Denkinger and Bill Buckner ? may wind down after 32 years of shocking us."

Is this what James Ford keeps yapping about?

Obviously either team can win....Peavy and Hudson don't exactly inspire confidence....

But I'd have to go with the Giants due to their experience and Bochy...

But its up for the taking....

Its amazing how little attention the World Series gets.....its almost become vogue to say "I hate baseball"....I hear hosts saying it on cable sports shows now....

Personally I think its been a great October...I've really enjoyed it and am dreading the end..

Anyone who ever even accidentally walked into a statistics class and sat there for five minutes realizes you're a fucking idiot.

I don't care about this topic at all but good lord don't just be intellectually dishonest. The only data points that matter in the analysis are this season? That's like saying only the last five votes cast should decide a Presidential election.

Anyone who ever even accidentally walked into a statistics class and sat there for five minutes realizes you're a fucking idiot.

I don't care about this topic at all but good lord don't just be intellectually dishonest. The only data points that matter in the analysis are this season? That's like saying only the last five votes cast should decide a Presidential election.

PENCE COFFEE CUP: Our crew ran into Hunter Pence at Starbucks in Kansas City this morning and noticed a message scrawled on his coffee cup. Turns out, Pence said his name was "Champ" when he ordered, but the barista wrote on his cup ?You may be known as Champ, but not here in KC.?

?I saved up to, like, buy a house and have a wife and kids, and it just never happened. So I decided a while ago to just go out and make myself happy. I said, ?Why don?t you go out and see in person these games? Why don?t you just go to the Yankees-Red Sox game? Why don?t you go to the Dodgers-Cubs? Why don?t you just go do this stuff??

?I saved up to, like, buy a house and have a wife and kids, and it just never happened. So I decided a while ago to just go out and make myself happy. I said, ?Why don?t you go out and see in person these games? Why don?t you just go to the Yankees-Red Sox game? Why don?t you go to the Dodgers-Cubs? Why don?t you just go do this stuff??

?So I did it."

He's not about seeing these games. He's about being seen in the front row in his bright orange..

i love him. not sure why he rubs so many people the wrong way. just seems to be a dude who loves live sports and has the means to afford it. hes been doing this for years and is just now getting all this attention so if he was just a publicity whore he would have given up long ago.

anyway tonights gonna be crazy. royals have got to score first, and score big, cuz any sign of trouble by hudson likely means bumgarner on the horizon

ventura was impressive last night. that guy should be something special to watch in the coming years

on the other end of the spectrum, hunter strickland is heading for one of the worst offseasons possible. 6 playoff home runs given up. yikes. the giants dont seem like the organization to give up on a guy too soon but thats a heavy weight for their closer of the future to carry, especially if they lose

definitely. but the inning after the royals scored all those runs it looked like ventura was gonna totally melt down (walked the bases loaded, posey up) but he got out of it with no runs and then settled down big time. for a rookie that was big, mostly cuz it saved yost from using his top bullpen guys at all last night.

bumgarner is cruising now but his control looked spotty when he came in. why give him an out to move a guy to second with a hot hitter coming up. he sent his own teams rally to a grinding halt. now the royals look lost at the plate again

if they cant work a long inning against bumgarner right now thats it. hell probably close this one out.

im pulling for the royals but you gotta give bumgarner tons of credit. hes been absolutely unreal

bumgarner is cruising now but his control looked spotty when he came in. why give him an out to move a guy to second with a hot hitter coming up. he sent his own teams rally to a grinding halt. now the royals look lost at the plate again

if they cant work a long inning against bumgarner right now thats it. hell probably close this one out.

im pulling for the royals but you gotta give bumgarner tons of credit. hes been absolutely unreal

yeah the book on madbum is you got to get to him EARLY... 9 pitches this inning...to get three batters out..not one ball..wow

I was so, so, so rooting for him to blow it, for my 3-4-5 idea to get blown up, and for the Royals to take it all. So sad it didn't happen. And so sad I went to bed before seeing Chevy guy. Sorry to get all emotional.

I imagine if the Nats win that the whole area surrounding Nats Park would be cleared out within an hour. Most of the people will have left by the end of the game and everyone with their bosses tickets will just go home. Lol.

good for buck but i cant agree with williams, even though i know its just a regular season award

he had a fine year, dealing with injuries, (self created) harper drama, soriano, etc, (especially for a rookie) but with the lineup he was given and the weak state of the division he would have had to try not to run away with the pennant. for me a manager of the year is a guy who makes the most of a little, or guides a team well beyond their expectations. buck is a great pick, but for the nl id go with a guy like hurdle or redmond. oh well. good for matt. hopefully it doesnt go to his head cuz theres def room to grow.

also funny how for all his accolades, bochy seems to remain under the radar till he guides a team through a dominant october

good for buck but i cant agree with williams, even though i know its just a regular season award

he had a fine year, dealing with injuries, (self created) harper drama, soriano, etc, (especially for a rookie) but with the lineup he was given and the weak state of the division he would have had to try not to run away with the pennant. for me a manager of the year is a guy who makes the most of a little, or guides a team well beyond their expectations. buck is a great pick, but for the nl id go with a guy like hurdle or redmond. oh well. good for matt. hopefully it doesnt go to his head cuz theres def room to grow.

also funny how for all his accolades, bochy seems to remain under the radar till he guides a team through a dominant october

At the end of the day, Bochy will be the one in the HOF. Manager of the year is based on regular season work, so it's not really too much of a surprise that Bochy only has one manager of the year award (1996).

I have to say I am gutted about Oscar Taveras dying in the Dominican Republic car accident....how crazy the world is... only two weeks ago he hit that huge home run....

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- St. Louis Cardinals rookie outfielder Oscar Taveras was drunk at the time of his fatal car crash last month in his Caribbean homeland, an official in the Dominican Republic said Wednesday.

Tessie Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the Dominican attorney general's office, told The Associated Press toxicology reports showed Taveras had a blood-alcohol level five times the country's legal limit when he lost control of his car Oct. 26 on a highway in the tourist region of Puerto Plata.

I have to say I am gutted about Oscar Taveras dying in the Dominican Republic car accident....how crazy the world is... only two weeks ago he hit that huge home run....

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- St. Louis Cardinals rookie outfielder Oscar Taveras was drunk at the time of his fatal car crash last month in his Caribbean homeland, an official in the Dominican Republic said Wednesday.

Tessie Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the Dominican attorney general's office, told The Associated Press toxicology reports showed Taveras had a blood-alcohol level five times the country's legal limit when he lost control of his car Oct. 26 on a highway in the tourist region of Puerto Plata.

Keith Law sums up my thoughts nicely: well, let's call it what it is: They gave what is, in effect, a two-year, $68 million deal to Victor Martinez, with half of the money deferred until 2017 and 2018.... It's better to think of it as overpaying to have him now, while they still have a legitimate chance to win the World Series. Either way, it should at least make Tigers fans feel better about it.

well theres supposedly an opt out clause too, which if true (and depending on when he can exercise it) means stanton has pretty much nothing to lose and a lot to gain by signing the deal. im no expert but it seems like if reports are true, all the risks are the team's on this one.

gotta wonder if this is the marlins announcing theyre serious and hoping to attract free agent talent the next few winters

not sure exactly how the $325 million will be allocated among the 13 years but miami is only getting 5 guaranteed years of stanton

but if he drops off for whatever reason and doesnt use his opt out theyll be paying him ~$25million/year till hes 37

you'd think for 325 million he wouldn''t have the opt out... that is what makes me second guess the deal...more than the amount... what if he's playing amazing and then decides to leave for the yankees at 30???? because they pay him $35 million a year?

has anybody heard of such a huge long term deal where the player gets an opt out?

you'd think for 325 million he wouldn''t have the opt out... that is what makes me second guess the deal...

The opt out clause is the only reason why I think the deal makes sense for at least one of the parties.

$325m over 13 years with no trade and no opt out clause would have a been a disaster for both parties. They'd hate each other within the first 5 seasons.

Now it at least makes sense for Stanton to agree to the deal. Unless the deal is severely backloaded, this is an awful deal for Miami. And even if it is severely backloaded, there's still a greater than 50% chance this an awful deal for Miami.

the more i read about the details to the stanton deal the more brilliant it seems from miamis standpoint

their fanbase is a disaster, this deal seems designed to try to win back some fans who (rightly) stopped trusting loria years ago. they get to trumpet the numbers and prove that they were willing to lock up an elite talent, while knowing how high the likelihood of stanton opting out and going to the highest bidder in 5(or 6, ive read conflicting reports) years. when that happens it technically wont be lorias fault, he can paint stanton as greedy and disloyal, and they wont owe him a further penny. the only real risk is if stanton loses it in the next 5 years, in which case of course the marlins remain on the hook anyway. if he keeps playing like hes playing there will certainly be teams throwing money at him when hes 30 and able to hit free agency. thats when the true test of loria and co's commitment to winning will happen

if thats too cynical and loria has suddenly decided to spend money on building a team, they basically have five years to surround giancarlo with enough talent, both on and off the field, to convince him to stay on past the 5 years. even if its not too cynical, loria better hope that 5 years of stanton on the field brings enough fans back that some will even stick around after hes gone.

long story short, we wont know the real value of this deal till that opt out comes into play.

ESPN reporting that the deal is heavily backloaded. Making $30M over the first three years. $107M over the first 6 years of the deal. So, the last 7, when he can opt out, he'll be making $218M.

Zero risk for Stanton. 100% risk for the Marlins. Best case scenario for the Marlins is one strong playoff run in the next 3-4 years, Stanton stays healthy and then opts out.

I don't know enough about baseball salary inflation, the likely available free agent sluggers in 6 years, and whatever else would factor into the decision.. But, is it really possible that in 6 years, someone will shell out $31M per year for 7 years for a bat?

Looking at recent-ish numbers, I could see that kind of progression on salaries if we used ARod as our example, but I have to believe he and his salary/contract are outliers.

I don't know enough about baseball salary inflation, the likely available free agent sluggers in 6 years, and whatever else would factor into the decision.. But, is it really possible that in 6 years, someone will shell out $31M per year for 7 years for a bat?

Looking at recent-ish numbers, I could see that kind of progression on salaries if we used ARod as our example, but I have to believe he and his salary/contract are outliers.

Trout and Stanton would both become free agents in 2021. Stanton will be 31, Trout will be 29. Trout will have made $33.5m the season leading into his FA year. We don't know yet what Stanton will make in 2020.

Either way, I don't think it will be unreasonable to think $31m might be market rate, especially with the Pujols and Cabrera deals as the measure.

Just wanted to be sure because I defended the $30m plus per year salaries in 2020 for Trout, Stanton, etc. Not Harper.

But the Butler deal I don't get. Sure, $10m is not a lot of money, but for Oakland? That's 1/7th of their salary for a one dimensional, overweight singles hitter whose decline over the last 2 seasons has been meteoric.

He doesn't hit HR's (9), he doesn't walk anymore (.323 OBP), no longer hits fly balls (near the league lead in GIDP), and can't play the field. How is this a Beane guy?

Sure, he hits lefties well, which Oakland needs, but $10m per season for a platoon player is not something Oakland can afford.

Just wanted to be sure because I defended the $30m plus per year salaries in 2020 for Trout, Stanton, etc. Not Harper.

But the Butler deal I don't get. Sure, $10m is not a lot of money, but for Oakland? That's 1/7th of their salary for a one dimensional, overweight singles hitter whose decline over the last 2 seasons has been meteoric.

He doesn't hit HR's (9), he doesn't walk anymore (.323 OBP), no longer hits fly balls (near the league lead in GIDP), and can't play the field. How is this a Beane guy?

Sure, he hits lefties well, which Oakland needs, but $10m per season for a platoon player is not something Oakland can afford.

but they all make millions these days... even guys who bat .220 .....

my guess is they think they can help him have a late career resurgence... these days you don't get much for $10 million....

I mean I'd rather have Morse any day but how much do you think Morse will go for? Less than 10 million?

No way. I know your thoughts on PED's, but those with a HoF ballot have gone in the exact opposite direction.

I say Johnson and Martinez are locks.Smoltz gets close, but doesn't quite make it.

Biggio gets his last two votes and gets in. Raines on the other hand, gets back over 50% but doesn't get in this year (and probably won't). Bagwell stays steady at 50% (and probably doesn't get in), and I have no idea what happens to Piazza.

Sheffield and Delgado have no chance. Neither do Mussina, Clemens, Schilling or Bonds.

No way. I know your thoughts on PED's, but those with a HoF ballot have gone in the exact opposite direction.

I say Johnson and Martinez are locks.Smoltz gets close, but doesn't quite make it.

Biggio gets his last two votes and gets in. Raines on the other hand, gets back over 50% but doesn't get in this year (and probably won't). Bagwell stays steady at 50% (and probably doesn't get in), and I have no idea what happens to Piazza.

Sheffield and Delgado have no chance. Neither do Mussina, Clemens, Schilling or Bonds.

And this is the year Sosa's run ends.

yes I distinguished between the ones I think should get in but won't (Clemens and Bonds) and the ones that should get in and will get in (Pedro and Randy Johnson)

I expect you're right about Biggio though I'm not sure I'd vote for him....

As long as scum bag Pete Rose never gets in the HOF all will be well...

http://www.peterosesucks.com

I would have worked out a deal with him a long long time ago.... Pete Rose gives baseball something back and is eventually allowed back in the game... Olbermann recently did a hour long segment on Pete Rose...At this point baseball is just being vindictive in the person of Bud Selig...

As long as scum bag Pete Rose never gets in the HOF all will be well...

http://www.peterosesucks.com

I would have worked out a deal with him a long long time ago.... Pete Rose gives baseball something back and is eventually allowed back in the game... Olbermann recently did a hour long segment on Pete Rose...At this point baseball is just being vindictive in the person of Bud Selig...

LOL you cite Olbermann! He is as big a bag of douche as Rose. Baseball is not being vindicitive at all. They are standing by the rules of the game and not treating Rose differently than any other player who intentionally broke the rule he chose to break. Rose should NEVER be allowed back in the game. He CHOSE to break a rule that he KNEW called for a lifetime ban. He has no one but himself to curse for his ban. The rules should not be changed for someone who happened to play the game well (even though he was one of the cheapest and dirtiest players ever and had ZERO respect for his fellow baseball players). What Rose did goes directly to the integrity of the entire sport. Whether he bet for or against his team is 100% irrelevant. He wagered on gems in which he was involved. Lifetime ban, end of story.

you realize the lifetime ban was only extended to cover hall of fame eligibility after rose accepted it right

That was a formalization of a rule that was already in effect and has kept one or more players out of the HOF prior to Rose. Either way, Rose knew the rule he broke called for a permanent lifetime ban form baseball. He knew that the HOF election committee had agreed to not elect anyone on the permanent banned list into the HOF. Nothing at all excuses his actions and nothing at all should change the fact that he should never be allowed in the HOF under any circumstances. Rose has zero respect for the game or anyone who plays it. He never will. Any parent who hold Rose out as a role model for their child is a fool.

if youre holding any athlete as a role model for your kid youre doing both sports and parenting wrong, but ok.

Sir Charles had it right... Then again if you are doing so as them being an athlete perhaps yes, however there have been many sports stars aside from their status in the game, who have been great role models.

you realize the lifetime ban was only extended to cover hall of fame eligibility after rose accepted it right

That was a formalization of a rule that was already in effect and has kept one or more players out of the HOF prior to Rose. Either way, Rose knew the rule he broke called for a permanent lifetime ban form baseball. He knew that the HOF election committee had agreed to not elect anyone on the permanent banned list into the HOF. Nothing at all excuses his actions and nothing at all should change the fact that he should never be allowed in the HOF under any circumstances. Rose has zero respect for the game or anyone who plays it. He never will. Any parent who hold Rose out as a role model for their child is a fool.

Hey I never said he was a role model.... is Ty Cobb a role model? Not everyone in the Hall of Fame has to be a role model

I 'm just telling you I love baseball, I follow it, I'm old school about it.. .. and I think Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame and something should have been worked out with him...

You are free to disagree with me!

As far as Rose having no respect for the game or anyone who plays it? Hyperbole much..... I do think your statement is false.. I think he showed plenty of respect on the field the 20 or so years he played it.....he wasn't Charlie Hustle for nothing...

you realize the lifetime ban was only extended to cover hall of fame eligibility after rose accepted it right

That was a formalization of a rule that was already in effect and has kept one or more players out of the HOF prior to Rose. Either way, Rose knew the rule he broke called for a permanent lifetime ban form baseball. He knew that the HOF election committee had agreed to not elect anyone on the permanent banned list into the HOF. Nothing at all excuses his actions and nothing at all should change the fact that he should never be allowed in the HOF under any circumstances. Rose has zero respect for the game or anyone who plays it. He never will. Any parent who hold Rose out as a role model for their child is a fool.

Hey I never said he was a role model.... is Ty Cobb a role model? Not everyone in the Hall of Fame has to be a role model

I 'm just telling you I love baseball, I follow it, I'm old school about it.. .. and I think Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame and something should have been worked out with him...

You are free to disagree with me!

As far as Rose having no respect for the game or anyone who plays it? Hyperbole much..... I do think your statement is false.. I think he showed plenty of respect on the field the 20 or so years he played it.....he wasn't Charlie Hustle for nothing...

1) He ruined a hall of fame catchers career over an exhibition game.

2) He broke the one rule that directly goes to the integrity of the game.

3) He made a mockery of the game at his autograph signing with his "I'm Sorry" signatures.

4) He continually lied to the commissioner about his gambling until he thought it would benefit him to (at least partially) tell the truth.

5) He has made commercials that make a joke of baseball and the HOF.

6) He continues to thumb his nose at baseball by his actions.

There are just a few of his dickhead no respect actions.

He was Charlie Hustle because he always ran to first base, even on a walk. Big fucking whoop. There is nothing to work out. The rules should not be applied differently to different players. Would the numbers that Rose put up otherwise make a player be considered for election to the HOF, perhaps so. That is 100% irrelevant though. Rose chose to make himself ineligible. Rose chose to be banned for life from baseball. If you cannot hold your better players to the rules of the game then there should be no rules at all. Putting Roe in the HOF would simply tell anyone playing the game that it is OK to break any rule you want if you think you are a good enough player. An 'old school' baseball fan would fully understand that and realize the severe negative impact on the game that allowing Rose into the HOF would have. A new school "no one should be held accountable for his actions" fan would be all up for Rose being in.

The problem with Pete Rose is that he was and probably is a gambling addict....he happened to be a gambling addict involved with baseball.. a very bad combination...

But I am not as vindictive or judgmental as you RatBastard...I try to be a little empathetic and I honestly feel sorry for the guy...

Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame...hopefully the new commissioner will see the light but I'm not...wait for it....betting on it.

;D

I am not vindictive at all. Nor am I judgmental. I am simply of the mind that the rules ought to be applied equally to all. Rose has no business in the HOF even as a visitor. There is no light to see. As far as feeling sorry for him, Perhaps if he ever showed some sincere sorrow for what he did I might feel sorry for him, but he is still in such denial that it is beyond believable that anyone would even think he should be considered for the HOF.

At the end of the day Pete Rose is a hall of famer...everybody knows it... no amount of vindictiveness by those running the game he loved so much is going to change that fact...

the Rose haters remind me of the Bonds maniacs... they were so up in arms about Bonds... meanwhile EVERYONE else around them was doing it and nobody cared or cares.... AROD is still in the frickin' game for Pete's sake! (pun intended!)

At the end of the day Pete Rose is a hall of famer...everybody knows it... no amount of vindictiveness by those running the game he loved so much is going to change that fact...

the Rose haters remind me of the Bonds maniacs... they were so up in arms about Bonds... meanwhile EVERYONE else around them was doing it and nobody cared or cares.... AROD is still in the frickin' game for Pete's sake! (pun intended!)

At the end of the day the number Rose put up MAY be worthy of consideration for the HOF. Also at the end of the day he is, by his own actions, permanently banned from baseball and ineligible. I know that you DC liberal types have no comprehension of the concept of personal responsibility, but that is what this is all about. Rose is the one who's actions went towards ruining the game. No other offense comes close to the degree of being detrimental to the sport as gambling by a participant.

As far as steroids go, I personally could not care less who takes what (as long as it is not otherwise illegal). People class steroids as performance enhancing but what does working out, taking vitamins, taking batting practice, and an endless list of the things do? They enhance the performance of the athlete. Aside from that, the rules of the game involving PEDs etc are set and being followed. The fact that they banned/suspended some extremely high star level players exactly the same as they did (would have) any other player is exactly how is should be.

What happened to being "a land of second chances"? I hear that all the time.... (personally I don't see it all that much)

He played the game hard but the right way throughout his career as a ballplayer....certainly nothing different than say a Ty Cobb...just very intense and ruthless ...

He gambled as a manager and is a buffoon and charlatan.... admittedly not very likable...

I still say he deserves to be in Cooperstown. You cannot compare his actions to those of the Black Sox which is the reason why the rule he violated was instituted.

You absolutely 100% can compare what he did with the black socks. In fact as manager he had more control over the outcome of the game than any one or handful of players. He controlled the entire team. Again his numbers MAY be worthy of consideration of being voted in but he intentionally, purposefully, and deliberately made a personal choice to break a rule that he full well knew called for a lifetime ban. He knew that a lifetime ban would keep him out of the HOF. There really is no debate at all about this. If he did respect the game he would sit down, shut up, and go away rather than whine cry and make a mockery of the game by acting like what he chose to do did not matter. Further I do not agree that he played the game 'the right way'. Ending the career of another player over an exhibition game shows how much he did NOT do so.

The only way this deal makes sense is if the Mariners sign more free agents. Giving Cruz a fourth year and giving up a #1 draft pick is foolish. But now that the draft pick is gone, be bold and sign some more free agents like the O's did last year, with, eh, Cruz!

Solid veteran player. Fine career. But he had become basically an overpaid singles hitter. Plus defender - sure. Fan favorite - sure. I dunno. Maybe I'm rationalizing to try to move on and not be emotionally attached to a player.

I think Duquette offered around $34M for 4 yrs in October. Nick balked. DD then started to question 4 years. The Braves posted with a better offer. Then bingo. Nick goes home.

I suspect this means that the O's are looking to deal for Kemp or one of the Upton brothers.

Not being a fan of the O's, I think the Braves went too long on a deal, which is what I suspect was the stopping point in Baltimore's negotiations. Normally I don't pay for nonmeasurable baseball contributions to the team, but the worst offender of that principle just won their 3rd World Series in 5 years so what do I know.

These two contradictions made me laugh. It's time for AJ to be the O's.

They were partners in arms.

From Roch:

Markakis, who couldn't be reached for comment, wanted to stay with the Orioles and is upset that it didn't happen. They negotiated down to a three-year deal while seeking assurances that his health would be fine.Markakis underwent a couple of examinations and waited for the Orioles to increase their offer. A guaranteed fourth year apparently came off the table.

In March 2013, Markakis, 31, was diagnosed with a small disk herniation in his neck. And even though he appeared in 160 and 155 games the past two seasons, his condition and diminished power gave the Orioles pause, according to major-league sources.

Roch:

The Braves checked the results of Markakis' recent medical examinations, including an MRI, and had no qualms about offering him a fourth year. The Orioles wanted more information on the small disc herniation in his neck and assurances that it wouldn't become a more serious issue that might require surgery.

In March 2013, Markakis, 31, was diagnosed with a small disk herniation in his neck. And even though he appeared in 160 and 155 games the past two seasons, his condition and diminished power gave the Orioles pause, according to major-league sources.

I actually would have put Bumgarner at #1 and Trout at #2 because of how team friendly Bumgarner's deal is. $10.5 million per season (AAVG) over the next 5 means you could afford him and sign some free agents.

This is an amazing article touting the skills of Scott Boras (http://nypost.com/2014/12/08/how-scott-boras-demands-cloud-market-for-max-scherzer/) delivering for his clients over the last 10 years. But not a single one of those deals has been good for the team.

The rumor I liked was that the Dodgers were sending Dee Gordon and Dan Haren to Miami for some prospect pitching. The Dodgers offered to pick up all of Haren's salary, mostly because he said that if he's traded away from CA he'll retire.

"Trading a player & agreeing to pay his $10M salary, while knowing there's a good chance you'll pay nothing, is as Andrew Friedman as it gets."

I FUCKING LOVE THIS. I hope we sign him longterm. His defense would bring alot to that big outfield. I love Porcello but this is awesome, and totally explains why Tigers are supposedly making a mega offer to Scherzer.

The Toronto Blue Jays have expressed interest in Nationals General Manager and President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo as a candidate to replace Paul Beeston team president and CEO, according to an ESPN report. But, according to a person familiar with the situation, the Nationals and Rizzo have not been contacted by the Blue Jays.

They probably were drunk and thought they were getting...(http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/2014/article/mad-mens-robert-morse-on-dancing-into-the-sunset-20140527/18867/_original/1035x689-20140527-robertmorse-x1800-1401225528.jpg)

I still say give Scherzer what he wants and trade Price to replenish the farm system at the trade deadline.

Are you not planning on being in first place at that time? Because there's no way that deal happens if the Tigers are leading the division.

I realize short of the wheels falling off, they'll never actually DO it. That doesn't mean it's not a good idea. The Tigers are highly leveraged in big $$ players with decreasing returns over the next five seasons. Their farm system is mostly in shambles. Why not, you know, be smart for once?

would you take two 12/1 teams or the nats at 6/1? given that the payout would essentially be the same if either bet hit, i think i would be taking BOS and LAA or maybe even ChC and really liking those odds.

22. Orioles - still have top 2 pitchers, weren't able to add much more though.

27. Angels - were sure to be last for third straight year, but the Heaney deal moved them up 3 spots (still not sure how much that matters as Richards, Shoemaker and Calhoun have starting jobs and were from the system last year and the year before).

30. Tigers - really no good news at all. Traded 5 of their top 10 prospects, promoted Castellanos, and had an elbow injury to their top pitcher.

Can someone give me some guidance on the best way to get some seats to the Os Vs BoSox games at the end of april.Love to get a box or someone's season tickets...but trying to avoid stub hub and the like

Can someone give me some guidance on the best way to get some seats to the Os Vs BoSox games at the end of april.Love to get a box or someone's season tickets...but trying to avoid stub hub and the like

is there a tix trading forum for Os?

I would need 6 or 7 seats

Orioles fans please note these guys will be rooting for the Red Sox...

i wish people would stop calling it ISIS..they are not a state.. they are a bunch of terrorists and fuckups....to call them "Islamic State" gives them a legitimacy they have not earned... it takes more than chopping a few heads and setting off a few bombs to be a "State"...

getting back on topic i tell you one thing: Red Sox and Yankees games at Camden can be tough tickets and with the Orioles doing so well last year....it will be even harder to score 6-7 good seats together...a box would I imagine be pricey.....but I suppose you can bill it as a business expense....

those Yankee and Red Sox people come out of the woodwork and drive hours for those games at Camden because they are really cheap compared to games at Yankee Stadium or Fenway....

a friend of mine back in the Golden Age (not the Iron Age) used to have three seats about 20 rows straight behind home plate.... man I got spoiled....there's nothing like watching a game from over there.. you can actually see what the pitcher is doing!

I have friends in Anaheim who used to pay for their season seats simply by selling their Yankees and Red Sox seats for ridiculous amounts. However, since MLB increased interleague play, the number of AL East games has been reduced so they can only pay for 3/4 of the games.

It's a win-win for them because they're the worst fans to watch a game with, so sell those and pay for the other 72 home games....

'Had Moncada been raised in America, he could not have hoped to sign for even a third of that bonus.

Large-market teams have shown they will pile money on top of money to acquire high-level talent. But they will not part with draft choices on top of money, because draft choices are simply too valuable. On the international market, teams are willing to spend big and forfeit their ability to sign international players for a year for the right talent.'

this is why i'm having trouble with baseball (although I can't wait for it to start)... its hard to tell who is doing what and when and what is real.. just make it all legal and end the charade.....the last straw was hearing that MLB allows some players to use adderall (sic) which is apparently a big help and doesn't allow others.... WTF.... all i ask for is a level playing field....

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Boston Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino, who has repeatedly mocked the New York Yankees for their spending, on Wednesday rejected a suggestion that his team has become "Yankee-like" in how it operates.

Lucchino called the Yankees a "different flavor of ice cream" after New York spent nearly $500 million in player acquisitions -- including former Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, catcher Brian McCann and Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka -- after the Red Sox won the World Series in 2013.

"We're very different animals, and I'm proud of that difference. I always cringe when people lump us together with other baseball teams," Lucchino said in February 2014. "They are still ... relying heavily on their inimitable old-fashioned Yankee style of high-priced, long-term free agents. I can't say I wish them well, but I think we have taken a different approach."

Wednesday, Lucchino was asked whether there was really any difference in bottom-line spending among the Yankees, Red Sox and the Dodgers.

"In one of Sabean's more interesting comments, he offered a bit more insight into why he does not pursue more of the high-ticket free agents.

"To entice a free agent to come to San Francisco, we're almost in an overpay situation, so why get involved in all those battles where you're not going to be able to go up the totem pole money-wise?" Sabean said.When asked to elaborate on why the Giants have to overpay, Sabean said, "You've got the state of California taxes. (San Francisco) is a long way from where some of these guys live in the offseason. It's not a hitters' ballpark, so you can scratch that side of the fence. It takes the right pitcher to consider wanting to come there for a number of different reasons, some of them I just mentioned, even if it's a pitchers' ballpark in a pitchers' division."

Asked if the high California income tax has been a problem for a while, Sabean said, "To a certain extent. Things now are getting more and more about the signing bonus, more and more about your take-home. Exponentially, when you get involved in some of those numbers, it makes a sizable difference to some.""

Neither the Dodgers, Angels and even the Padres this year seem to have any problems attracting and signing free agents. And considering the Giants have won 3 of the last 5 World Series, I think it's fair to say that he's just making excuses. It's not like he hasn't had opportunities to leave and passed on every one of them to stay in the horrible state of CA.

If he really hated the taxes he would have left years ago. Would you like some whine with that cheese?

Neither the Dodgers, Angels and even the Padres this year seem to have any problems attracting and signing free agents. And considering the Giants have won 3 of the last 5 World Series, I think it's fair to say that he's just making excuses. It's not like he hasn't had opportunities to leave and passed on every one of them to stay in the horrible state of CA.

If he really hated the taxes he would have left years ago. Would you like some whine with that cheese?

I think Sabean is just saying that in order to participate in the market, their budget needs to reflect the reality of being in California, and so far, management has decided to not do so. The Angels and Dodgers certainly have the budgets and finances to deal with the tax situation, and the Padres decided to do it this year. The Giants have a philosophy that, as you have noted, has resulted in 3 championships in 5 years. So, something seems to be working.

Yahoo is reporting Hamilton did cocaine at a strip joint after getting in a fight with his wife over Super Bowl weekend. (http://sports.yahoo.com/news/the-power-struggle-over-josh-hamilton-and-why-rob-manfred-needs-to-do-what-s-right-033607402.html)

I'm not so sure. The important piece of information there was that it wasn't the Union that asked for the discussion. I don't think Bud Selig ever brought up the DH in the NL idea, though we know the union has brought it up several times.

Bud Selig is right..its nice to have the two different games... changing things makes no sense...

also, it sure ain't going to help the starting pitchers to have to pitch to a DH instead of a scrub pitcher...in an age where we see more and more pitchers arms being unable to handle the strain and needing tommy john or even multiple tommy johns does this make sense?

i actually think somebody should try having pitchers pitch no more than 3 innings... i think i wrote about that here a few years ago ...

it sure ain't going to help the starting pitchers to have to pitch to a DH instead of a scrub pitcher...in an age where we see more and more pitchers arms being unable to handle the strain and needing tommy john or even multiple tommy johns does this make sense?

it sure ain't going to help the starting pitchers to have to pitch to a DH instead of a scrub pitcher...in an age where we see more and more pitchers arms being unable to handle the strain and needing tommy john or even multiple tommy johns does this make sense?

That's insanely non-sequitor.

well my mind is not entirely with this board these days...

but i think it makes sense...if you add a power bat to the lineups the strain on the pitcher going around the order is just going to increase... all other things being equal

Surprise - the Angels don't want him back (https://twitter.com/EKayAngels/status/584032511795167232/photo/1)

Do you think it's easy to win 98 games with Hamilton in your lineup?!! That's why Scioscia won Manager of the Year.

it's a pretty ruthless response,. when they signed josh to his lucrative idea, i'm pretty sure the entire world at once asked, "are you sure that's a good idea?". they made their bed, they should shut up and sleep in it and throw their support behind the guy instead of just money.

i'm excited to catch game 2/game 3 this week of the Ms/As series at safeco. excited to see paxton pitch on tuesday, and see trout for the first time in person. the west should be a fun one again this year, although i'll still spend most of my time watching the al and nl east.

it's a pretty ruthless response,. when they signed josh to his lucrative idea, i'm pretty sure the entire world at once asked, "are you sure that's a good idea?". they made their bed, they should shut up and sleep in it and throw their support behind the guy instead of just money.

I think they're most frustrated by the fact that they can't help him. They can't send him to rehab by the CBA. They can't suspend him. They can't do anything. All because he admitted to it and it wasn't uncovered by a drug test.

They've had a dry club house for the last two years since they signed him. I hope they don't this year.

i'm excited to catch game 2/game 3 this week of the Ms/As series at safeco. excited to see paxton pitch on tuesday, and see trout for the first time in person. the west should be a fun one again this year, although i'll still spend most of my time watching the al and nl east.

I caught Taijuan Walker at the end of my spring training vacation. He looked like he had the control issues figured out and was pretty dominant. At least for that day. AL West should be fun this year - I might even make it up to Seattle for a game or two myself.

it's a pretty ruthless response,. when they signed josh to his lucrative idea, i'm pretty sure the entire world at once asked, "are you sure that's a good idea?". they made their bed, they should shut up and sleep in it and throw their support behind the guy instead of just money.

I think they're most frustrated by the fact that they can't help him. They can't send him to rehab by the CBA. They can't suspend him. They can't do anything. All because he admitted to it and it wasn't uncovered by a drug test.

They've had a dry club house for the last two years since they signed him. I hope they don't this year.

i now consider my initial reaction post the equivalent of an old man shaking his fist, or a hutch post.

i'm excited to catch game 2/game 3 this week of the Ms/As series at safeco. excited to see paxton pitch on tuesday, and see trout for the first time in person. the west should be a fun one again this year, although i'll still spend most of my time watching the al and nl east.

I caught Taijuan Walker at the end of my spring training vacation. He looked like he had the control issues figured out and was pretty dominant. At least for that day. AL West should be fun this year - I might even make it up to Seattle for a game or two myself.

also excited to see walker in the rotation, but that'll have to wait for a while. 3 game home series then they hit the road. surprised they slotted him for the 4th roster spot, and then explained as "we wanted to alternate lefties and righties". is there really any statistics that show alternating like that is beneficial? it always sounds like gypsy talk to me.

My friend who is a hardcore Braves fan went completrly nuts when I texted him that.

I don't know why. They dumped a really bad contract in Don't Call Me BJ Upton, a closer is useless on a sub-.500 team, and will probably deal Quentin to the AL for another prospect.

In addition, they get a pitching prospect, an outfield prospect, the possibility of Maybin turning it around (he's already better than Melvin Upton and much cheaper) plus the #41 Draft pick this summer. They no have picks 14, 28, 41, and 54 on day one. They also have $48m more to spend on free agents in 2016 and 17, plus revenue from the new stadium.

This is a great deal for the Braves - concede 2015 and 2016 to the Nats, and be ready with a strong team for when all of the Boras clients depart.

i don't have an opinion on this yet. it seems way too high and nothing in his stats suggest he deserves it. am i missing something?

I sort of feel I'm missing something too. I really like Porcello, but he's a #2/3 guy, he's not a staff's ace. His pitching is highly dependent on groundballs and having competent infield defense. That's worth 20million per? Am I just that out of it as far as what the market is going for for a #2/3 pitcher?

To the deal's credit, he's only 26 so it's not like he's going to age out of this 4 year deal and be far out of his prime in year 3 and 4.

You don't think Rick Porcello deserves to be the highest paid pitcher in Red Sox history?

Me neither, and I love the guy. I've been hoping Anaheim would trade for him or he'd be in Anaheim by next season. But if that's the going rate for less years/more money deals (they offered less money per year in his 4 year deal), then I'm happy with Heaney, Tropeano and Skaggs. It does make me wonder what Richards is going to cost though...

Last night Vinnie Gem: "I'm absolutely amazed about the beards. I can remember when the No. 1 sponsor for the World Series was Gillette."

there was also that moment when (i think) joc pederson struck out, and his remark was something along the lines of "joc pederson, who led the team in batting in spring training which we all know means nothing, goes down swinging".

i don't have an opinion on this yet. it seems way too high and nothing in his stats suggest he deserves it. am i missing something?

I sort of feel I'm missing something too. I really like Porcello, but he's a #2/3 guy, he's not a staff's ace. His pitching is highly dependent on groundballs and having competent infield defense. That's worth 20million per? Am I just that out of it as far as what the market is going for for a #2/3 pitcher?

To the deal's credit, he's only 26 so it's not like he's going to age out of this 4 year deal and be far out of his prime in year 3 and 4.

friends traded about 15 emails this morning trying to make sense of it. the best we could come up with is better to lock someone down from 26-30, rather than sign someone to the same deal, same money at 29. we also sent around the phillies roster and owed salaries for 2015, so that made us feel better.

You don't think Rick Porcello deserves to be the highest paid pitcher in Red Sox history?

Me neither, and I love the guy. I've been hoping Anaheim would trade for him or he'd be in Anaheim by next season. But if that's the going rate for less years/more money deals (they offered less money per year in his 4 year deal), then I'm happy with Heaney, Tropeano and Skaggs. It does make me wonder what Richards is going to cost though...

don't you have like 4 years and another tommy john surgery before you have to worry about that?

also, come to seattle for a game and say hi. we can go to a wine bar or something.

friends traded about 15 emails this morning trying to make sense of it. the best we could come up with is better to lock someone down from 26-30, rather than sign someone to the same deal, same money at 29.

The age is the only reason why it's even close to fathomable, but shouldn't you at least see him pitch one game in your ballpark or see how he handles the fans and media in Beantown for a little while? They seem really nice and all....

also, come to seattle for a game and say hi. we can go to a wine bar or something.

Absolutely. Right now I'm looking July 10-12 in either Seattle or Colorado. I'll let you know for sure. And even I find it sacrilege to drink wine at a baseball game. I hope they have Olympia! That's what I drank last night in honor of the Halo's playing the M's.

it really is. the first word that comes to my mind is fancy. nice restaurants, great beer, fire pits and couches, wine bars, etc.. i'll probably catch a lot of games there since i'm living a short bikeride away now, and i hope they continue to kind of suck so i can keep getting $10 tickets.

what are the chances of mlb.tv doing away with its blackout restrictions eventually?

id love to subscribe, and id easily get my moneys worth, but if i cant watch nats game its ultimately pointless for me. shame, cuz i played around with it on the last day of the season last year and loved it. id watch more than just the nats but im not gonna throw down $130 just to have to get my nats fix elsewhere

i know this gets into rights issues that are way over my head, just curious if theres ever been talk of easing blackout restrictions

on a related note, id been using this tunein radio app on my phone to stream day games at work the last few seasons with no problems, but every game ive tried to listen to this year, save for opening day, hasnt been available. most of them i cant hear at all (im mainly trying dc's espn station, but ive tried opposing teams radio networks too, with no success), but one of them cut off after a few innings and never came back. any idea what the deal is there?

what are the chances of mlb.tv doing away with its blackout restrictions eventually?

Virtually nil. MLB's bread is buttered by its massive TV deals with local broadcast partners, not what it gets from those of us who buy MLB.tv. Removing blackout restrictions quite literally lowers ratings and therefore what its TV deals are worth.

That said, you should be able to run mlb.tv through a proxy server to spoof being in another part of the country.

what are the chances of mlb.tv doing away with its blackout restrictions eventually?

Virtually nil. MLB's bread is buttered by its massive TV deals with local broadcast partners, not what it gets from those of us who buy MLB.tv. Removing blackout restrictions quite literally lowers ratings and therefore what its TV deals are worth.

That said, you should be able to run mlb.tv through a proxy server to spoof being in another part of the country.

mlb.tv was 9% revenue last year (according to vansmacks fancy economist article) and most definitely growing as everyone who lives in the 21st century continues to convert over to streaming services.

i wouldn't say virtually nil, i could see a situation where you pay extra to avoid blackout dates.

it's a big problem for me when it comes to playoffs. had to resort to other streams to get the games.

and workarounds (running through proxys) are pretty simple. i'll probably wait until midseason discount to buy mlb.tv this year, unless a friend decides they want to split it with me.

i wouldn't say virtually nil, i could see a situation where you pay extra to avoid blackout dates.

Just a quick clarification - MLBAM, not MLB.TV was 9% of MLB's central office revenue. That includes all the money they make from streaming ESPN, HBO, PlayStation, WWE, etc. among a handful of others that they handle streaming for. This means it's becoming a larger chunk of revenue MLB negotiates, but it's not even close to eclipsing the national broadcast revenue (Fox Saturday, ESPN Mon/Wed night baseball, and the playoffs.

The local TV revenue is negotiated and kept by the team (save for MLB's revenue sharing plan, which I don't need to explain here). That combined is far larger than the MLB National Broadcast dollars. There is no way local broadcasters are going to give up those rights for streaming. You may see the National Broadcasts come to MLB.TV someday and maybe those blackouts removed as MLB controls that (though Fox will want to have a say), but the local blackout of of your home team is here to stay for the duration of at least your local TV deal, so don't hold your breath.

i wouldn't say virtually nil, i could see a situation where you pay extra to avoid blackout dates.

Just a quick clarification - MLBAM, not MLB.TV was 9% of MLB's central office revenue. That includes all the money they make from streaming ESPN, HBO, PlayStation, WWE, etc. among a handful of others that they handle streaming for. This means it's becoming a larger chunk of revenue MLB negotiates, but it's not even close to eclipsing the national broadcast revenue (Fox Saturday, ESPN Mon/Wed night baseball, and the playoffs.

The local TV revenue is negotiated and kept by the team (save for MLB's revenue sharing plan, which I don't need to explain here). That combined is far larger than the MLB National Broadcast dollars. There is no way local broadcasters are going to give up those rights for streaming. You may see the National Broadcasts come to MLB.TV someday and maybe those blackouts removed as MLB controls that (though Fox will want to have a say), but the local blackout of of your home team is here to stay for the duration of at least your local TV deal, so don't hold your breath.

My thoughts that the Tigers were going to be extremely mediocre may have been misguided. If Greene continues to look this good and Simon this competent to shore up the rotation, and you add that lineup (that can actually run and play defense for once) . . . look out.

My thoughts that the Tigers were going to be extremely mediocre may have been misguided. If Greene continues to look this good and Simon this competent to shore up the rotation, and you add that lineup (that can actually run and play defense for once) . . . look out.

do i want to pick up greene in my fantasy league or is he gonna give up 12 runs next start?

i was going to send a surprise edible arrangement on our one year anniversary but with that attitude i don't think you deserve it.

Can we please do a TAN thread about how Edible Arrangements is the stupidest, most backhandedly eff you gift ever? NO ONE EATS THE DAMN THING and it gets thrown away after two weeks completely untouched. Total waste of money. Will someone indulge me in this conversation?

i was going to send a surprise edible arrangement on our one year anniversary but with that attitude i don't think you deserve it.

Can we please do a TAN thread about how Edible Arrangements is the stupidest, most backhandedly eff you gift ever? NO ONE EATS THE DAMN THING and it gets thrown away after two weeks completely untouched. Total waste of money. Will someone indulge me in this conversation?

i'll send you one if you send me one and then i'll entertain this conversation.

i was going to send a surprise edible arrangement on our one year anniversary but with that attitude i don't think you deserve it.

Can we please do a TAN thread about how Edible Arrangements is the stupidest, most backhandedly eff you gift ever? NO ONE EATS THE DAMN THING and it gets thrown away after two weeks completely untouched. Total waste of money. Will someone indulge me in this conversation?

i'll send you one if you send me one and then i'll entertain this conversation.

Why don't we just cut out the middle man and each set $60 on fire and skip the part where we take the thing out to the dumpster?

i was going to send a surprise edible arrangement on our one year anniversary but with that attitude i don't think you deserve it.

Can we please do a TAN thread about how Edible Arrangements is the stupidest, most backhandedly eff you gift ever? NO ONE EATS THE DAMN THING and it gets thrown away after two weeks completely untouched. Total waste of money. Will someone indulge me in this conversation?

if you're not willing to i'll send you one if you send me one and then i'll entertain this conversation.

Why don't we just cut out the middle man and each set $60 on fire and skip the part where we take the thing out to the dumpster?

true story: i had a really nice roommate in college whos dad worked at a major airline. since i flew to/from school, he would hook me up with cheap standby tickets all the time. i truly appreciated it, and sent his family an edible arrangement as a thank you.

granted i was 18, 19, 20 years old when i did this, but looking back, i really thought i was doing something nice to show my appreciation.

I know no one else was probably watching the Tigers/White Sox game, but Ventura should literally be fired for not challenging that call.

i was following the game track and saw a picture... yikes.

detroit looking nasty, even w/o vmart.

enjoy yoenis. you'll get 3 strikeouts per game, which makes him the worst baseball player ever, on par with kris bryant and bryce harper, but every now and then he'll pretty much win a game for you by himself.

enjoy yoenis. you'll get 3 strikeouts per game, which makes him the worst baseball player ever, on par with kris bryant and bryce harper, but every now and then he'll pretty much win a game for you by himself.

I've seen him win an entire series. In person. I'm glad he's no longer in the AL West.

enjoy yoenis. you'll get 3 strikeouts per game, which makes him the worst baseball player ever, on par with kris bryant and bryce harper, but every now and then he'll pretty much win a game for you by himself.

enjoy yoenis. you'll get 3 strikeouts per game, which makes him the worst baseball player ever, on par with kris bryant and bryce harper, but every now and then he'll pretty much win a game for you by himself.

I've seen him win an entire series. In person. I'm glad he's no longer in the AL West.

how does everyone stream mlb.tv? this may have been covered but i'm struggling with the mlb.tv interface and tabcasting with chrome. i'm trying to watch two games at once, but to do it, i take away all the functionality that mlb.tv offers (scoreboard, toggle between viewing modes, etc).

i think at the same moment cespedes hit his grand slam, porcello gave up a two-run shot to adam jones.

Yeah, we are good with that trade officially. We'll keep him. No disrespect to Porcello who I still think is massive underrated (albeit apparently overpaid) but Cespedes really fit the Tigers needs. Too many years with beer league softball defense and no speed.

Shane Greene might actually be legit. If Dombrowski saw something that no one else did, well, give that guy a raise.

Spicyweiner, I only use the phone app and TiVo program never the real site. I'm not ignoring your query selfishly and would love to answer your question but smackie is probably more familiar with the way you're using it.

i think at the same moment cespedes hit his grand slam, porcello gave up a two-run shot to adam jones.

Yeah, we are good with that trade officially. We'll keep him. No disrespect to Porcello who I still think is massive underrated (albeit apparently overpaid) but Cespedes really fit the Tigers needs. Too many years with beer league softball defense and no speed.

as much as i wanted to keep cespedes, the trade made fine sense for the sox. the logjam in the outfield is ridiculous... rusney castillo, mookie betts, and hanley ramirez should be the outfield for the next few years, and what do we do with victorino, allen craig, and jackie bradley jr? and david ortiz is turding it up in the DH spot daily, so we can't even rotate these guys in at all.

Spicyweiner, I only use the phone app and TiVo program never the real site. I'm not ignoring your query selfishly and would love to answer your question but smackie is probably more familiar with the way you're using it.

the app is great but as far as i can tell, there's no option to choose to watch 2 games at once. does that sound right?

All depends on the cost. He'd probably take a huge reduction on a one year deal given that Anaheim is going to pay him something and to market himself for a long term deal (a la Nelson Cruz last season).

The more worrying question for me is what affect this has on Anaheim's ability to sign free agents in the future. Players are loyal to other players...

Sources: Expectation is that #STLCards? Wainwright is done for season with Achilles injury. Has not yet undergone MRI.

Major bummer. Huge blow to STL too....

On the brightside, it's not an arm, but I can hear the calls for the DH already...

yeah, as soon as I heard he injured himself while hitting, that was the first thought that crossed my mind..... Wainwright is a big enough name (read: making enough money) that this could effect a rules change, whereas if it had happened to the Brewers 10th pitcher, nobody would care.... kinda like football where they had the OT sudden death rules for 40 years until Peyton Manning lost a playoff OT game on a FG without being able to take a snap.... suddenly, new OT rules!!!

Anaheim is paying $68m of the $83m he's owed. No idea what Anaheim received in return.

$80,486,339: Money left on Josh Hamilton's contract through today

$67,486,339: Money Anaheim will pay over the next 3 years$7,000,000: Money the Rangers will pay over the next 3 years$6,000,000: Money Josh "forwent," which is actually just revenue the state of CA loses in income tax

He also has an opt clause after two years - not sure what Anaheim would be on the hook for in that scenario.

hard to believe that was a good deal for the Angels.... I'd rather just pay him not to play I think...I mean they're going to pay him now to play against them?

The only deal worse than the deal out the door was the deal that brought him in the door.

The Players Association wouldn't let the Angels keep him in the minors all season and would file a grievance if they used a spot on the 25 man roster and sat him for three years (not to mention the clubhouse distraction). There was never any chemistry between Josh and the Angels management, and it's been a problem from day one that kept getting progressively worse. The final straw was when he waited until February to have his shoulder surgery, to be honest. The drug relapse the same weekend as his surgery was just icing on the cake that gave the Angels an out.

They had a deal to send him to the Diamondbacks but Hamilton vetoed it - he wanted to be back in Texas to be near his kids and handle his divorce - which also came out of that surgery/Coke filled weekend. The Angels had two options: Eat all of the salary and release him or get $13m back from Texas and move him on. If they kept him, they'd have to play him.

I hope they do NOT bring the DH to the NL. On the contrary I hope they get rid of it in the AL. I am not too fond of gimmick rules in sports. IMHO pitchers ought to bat and if they gave a damn they would take batting practice to get better at it like all other players. The fact that pitcher pitch is irrelevant. Outfielders need to have a good arm to gun down a runner. If you are going to DH for a pitcher why not just have an entire offensive and defense squad?

The shoot out in the NHL and the penalty kicks in professional kick ball (oops I mean soccer) are similar gimmick rules. Either play the spot to the end or be OK with the fact that some games will end in a tie. Some of the best hockey games I have ever watched ended up as a 0-0 tie.

I particularly do not like the shoot outs in the NHL where they mysteriously create an additional point for OT games. Every regular season game should carry the same weight in the season long standings. The only reason the NHL did this is so the casual non-fan would watch the games and see an 'exciting' play. (IOW its all about the money.)

The Players Association wouldn't let the Angels keep him in the minors all season and would file a grievance if they used a spot on the 25 man roster and sat him for three years (not to mention the clubhouse distraction).

yeah, when someone else is paying almost your entire salary, that's almost always a bargain.... especially when you're gonna get the chance to beat them multiple times the rest of your tenure.....

Unless, you're paying them to have him in their lineup to actually hurt their team:

0-4, 1K. Now 0-2 with RISP.

(I don't actually believe this, mind you, and I would have traded him to the Astros if I this were the case)

there might be some kernel of truth in this.... I don't think they would've traded him within the division unless they thought he was pretty much done, kinda like the Eagles trading McNabb to the Redskins.... the Eagles ended up being right, guess we'll get a chance to see if the Angels were.....

I used "The Making of a Hitter (http://www.amazon.com/The-Making-Hitter-Jim-Lefebvre/dp/096027720X)" by Jim Lefebvre to make my swing, and still recommend it to kids, though after reading this there have been a ton of advances since that book came out. The ability to analyze swings with modern technology has changed everything.

I was (and suppose still am) a strong left hand over top hitter (I'm a lefty/lefty) who was pure bat speed as I have very little upper body strength. My bat speed through the zone was much faster than it should have been though, which produced a surprising amount of pop. This has made me an absolutely horrendous golfer, though - too fast through the swing and too much push with my left (follow) hand.

I modeled my baseball around Chad Harbach's excellent The Art Of Fielding (http://www.amazon.com/Art-Fielding-Novel-Chad-Harbach/dp/0316126675/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433441900&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Art+Of+Fielding&pebp=1433441906983&perid=0MJS8ZVJBA8KJA27VWR8). Unfortunately, the character that drank all of his girlfriend's dead (gay) father's scotch resonated more with me than the elite shortstop.

I'm not sure what's weirder...that the Atlanta Braves have been using Nick Markakis as their cleanup hitter, or that they've continued using his as their cleanup hitter in spite of him having ZERO home runs (and a .369 slugging pct) 56 games into their season.

It'll be real interesting to see the amount of vitrol and coverage compared to deflategate considering one is an actual landmark scandal by a beloved team and one is complete nonsense by a hated program. Prepare to see some interesting mental gymnastics from idiots everywhere.

I?m sure that it?s just a big misunderstanding. Jesus probably just wanted access to some of the Astros? proprietary religious player data and asked his duly designated representatives on Earth, the St. Louis Cardinals organization, to take care of getting it for Him. Jesus could never want the Cards to do anything wrong.

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The Cardinals built that network from the ground up. Really a class organization. The Astros bought their network. No values in the ball club, probably why they got hacked. Cardinals did it the right way.

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?The Cardinal Way?

Ask any person in St. Louis to define ?the Cardinal Way,? and they will tell you that it?s a style of hacking that both pays homage to and respects the fundamentals of breaching computer security dating back to when the opposing team began digitally storing scouting reports within data networks in 1994. The style of hacking is described in phrases like ?password cracking? and ?brute force attacks.?

For any player scouted by opposing teams, the Cardinal Way is an 86 page handbook that outlines exploitation of each teams databases in areas ranging from vulnerability scanners to packet analyzers, spoofing attacks and computer worms, as well as the manner in which the Cardinals cyber scouts should conduct themselves on ?the ?Net.?

From a business standpoint, the handbook defines the organizational philosophy, a philosophy that places a greater emphasis on misappropriating digital scouting records and player transaction information from opposing teams than on generating home grown data from within the Cardinals organization. It?s the Cardinal Way.

Well aren't they saying that leak is what predicated the investigation?

Exactly. I mean, it's comical that their former employee used his same password in an elevated role with his new organization, but it's still going to land them in a ton of trouble.

Agreed on the password security. *facepalm*

Here's my question: from the looks of the initial report, MLB asked for this investigation. They had to think it was someone outside baseball, right? If there's any scintilla of a thought it could be another team behind it, there's NO WAY they ask the FBI to get involved, right? This could go down as the final Bud Selig dramabomb he left behind to detonate (unintentionally) once he was out the door.

it's albert fucking pujols. i'm not gonna sugar coat this too much because he is 35 and signed through 2022 and you're a realist, but he's the best hitter since barry bonds. the past 2 years have been an unbelievably steep decline from what we would expect.

I thought he was a bit overlooked last year - most people don't realize that he finished in the top 20 of AL MVP Voting.

The start of this season, teams were walking Trout to face Pujols, but they're not any longer. That seems to have lit a fire in Albert.

I'll say through 2018, as he'll benefit from hitting behind Baseball Jesus. Then he's just chasing records and selling tickets. The Angels do have a ten year personal services contract with him after that, so I won't be surprised if he's the hitting coach for years to come.

I thought he was a bit overlooked last year - most people don't realize that he finished in the top 20 of AL MVP Voting.

The start of this season, teams were walking Trout to face Pujols, but they're not any longer. That seems to have lit a fire in Albert.

I'll say through 2018, as he'll benefit from hitting behind Baseball Jesus. Then he's just chasing records and selling tickets. The Angels do have a ten year personal services contract with him after that, so I won't be surprised if he's the hitting coach for years to come.

he quietly had a great year last year. hell, he could pull a david ortiz, find a steroid that goes undetected, and DH effectively through the entirety of his contract.

Coming into the 2011 season, the fantasy world was excited about the arrival of two of the most talented prospects the sport had ever seen. Bryce Harper was the consensus No. 1 prospect coming into that season. Mike Trout was safely within the top five.

Both were supposed to take the sport by storm. Yet both were still years from being able to share a beer legally. It had been a long time since such talented players might make an impact at such a young age.

The scouting reports described Harper as having prodigious power. That was an easy call after he hit 31 home runs in only 228 at-bats in his last year at the College of South Nevada. Trout had tremendous speed, amassing 56 stolen bases at two Class A stops in 2010.

Harper was the power guy. Trout was the speed guy.

In the four years since, each has taken a different path.

Trout hit the ground running, posting a historic 2012 campaign -- 30 homers, 49 stolen bases, .326 batting average -- and has maintained elite productivity every year since. He has fulfilled the speed expectations and added far more power than anyone expected.

Harper has battled inconsistency and injuries -- knee bursitis in 2013, a torn thumb ligament in 2014 -- that have cost him much playing time. Along the way, there were small signs that he might one day reach the potential we had expected.

Typically we'd expect to see some growth during the early years of a player's career. Trout's trends are mostly flat or declining, clearly because he started out at such a high level. His batting average on balls in play has been normalizing over time, indicating that his future batting averages might settle closer to .300 than .325.

And despite the high levels, his rotisserie value -- a gauge that is benched against the caliber of offense each season -- has also been in a slow decline.

After Trout's 2012 breakout, I was asked what the chances were that it would be the best year of his career. I said "99 percent." I'll stand by that statement.

While there are similarly flat trends for some of these metrics, Harper's 2015 performance to this point far exceeds anything he's done before. We don't know whether he can sustain these levels for three more months, or if he can even stay healthy during that time, but these numbers do exceed those Trout is currently producing.

Admittedly, it's not a strong argument for either player's Hall of Fame worthiness 25 years from now. But if these four years represent just the beginning of a 20-year run, there's still plenty of time for either to win this battle.

A look at future fantasy stars

For those fantasy leaguers entranced by each year's shiny new things, Harper and Trout are both old news. The important names now are players like Kris Bryant, Joey Gallo, Byron Buxton, Joc Pederson and Carlos Correa.

It seems the hype that preceded these players was exceeded only by the rush to roster them. Is chasing the hype always the best approach? And if we use Trout and Harper as the benchmarks for levels worth chasing, how has this year's young talent crop measured up so far?

These are all small samples, but you can still see which players are already lacking in some key metrics.

The biggest takeaway? Almost all have depressed contact rates, a key skill that will filter down into all their other stats. Players who can't manage a 72 percent level could wind up looking up at a .250 batting average.

This is what immediately separates this group from any thought that they could approach Trout/Harper levels. Note that both Trout and Harper showed significantly better contact in their rookie year than any of this year's top prospects.

But all is not lost. Buxton had a 78 percent contact rate at two minor league stops this year. Correa's contact rate was up above 80 percent while in the minors. While they might not have the same level of power as players like Bryant, Gallo and Pederson, Buxton and Correa might have more long-term potential.

The big power bats will likely be feast-or-famine commodities. They might be Giancarlo Stanton one year, Chris Carter the next, so be prepared for both of those outcomes.

'Dipoto, according to sources, believes that the coaches too often rely on ?feel? while teams such as the AL West-leading Astros are at the forefront of incorporating data. The coaches, in turn, seemingly do not trust the information they are given, and either are not willing or able to translate it for the players.'

'Dipoto, according to sources, believes that the coaches too often rely on ?feel? while teams such as the AL West-leading Astros are at the forefront of incorporating data. The coaches, in turn, seemingly do not trust the information they are given, and either are not willing or able to translate it for the players.'

Pujols was the most vocal to Dipoto about how last years team was stronger offensively. That's not good..

'Dipoto, according to sources, believes that the coaches too often rely on ?feel? while teams such as the AL West-leading Astros are at the forefront of incorporating data. The coaches, in turn, seemingly do not trust the information they are given, and either are not willing or able to translate it for the players.'

Pujols was the most vocal to Dipoto about how last years team was stronger offensively. That's not good..

DiPoto reportedly packed up his office last night. This is not the right year for me to change jobs....

'Towards the end of his career Bobby's star was burning out and he was caught playing cards in the Mets dugout with a fellow player while the team was losing the final game of the National League Championship Series. Months later Bonilla met with management to discuss his contract. Although they wanted to part ways, the Mets still owed him $5.9 million for one more year. That's when things turned in Bonilla's favor.

With two children to put through college and retirement to pay for, the 36-year-old ball player negotiated what has turned out to be one of the most forward-thinking contracts in sports history. Instead of taking a lump sum, which is what most financial advisers would suggest you do, Bobby and his agents offered the Mets another deal. The team would release him to play for another franchise and they would delay the $5.9 million payment for 11 years with interest. Essentially the Mets agreed to pay Bobby Bonilla a delayed total of $29.8 million in 25 annual installments of $1.192 million starting on July 1, 2011.

Today, the 52-year-old is on the eve of July 1st, what has unofficially become Bobby Bonilla Day and another big $1.2 million payday from the Mets. They will continue making his lovely direct deposits until 2035, when Bobby is 72.

Perhaps the next time we buy a lottery ticket and we're asked that question of equal payments or lump sum we'll remember Bobby Bonilla and remember the man who is winning at life. Happy Bobby Bonilla Day!'